To Bridge the Gap
by Verse Gypsy
Summary: A series of short shots in chronological order, detailing the year and a half from the end of "To Find Peace" to the next book. Storytelling and fluff within, but definite character development here. You don't NEED to read this to get the next part, but it sure wouldn't hurt. One lemon within, and only one, but plenty of suggestive material all the same. VERY OC heavy.
1. Chapter 1 The UK Trip

**The Story So Far…**

These stories, more two to three shots, are meant to bridge the gap between the second and third trilogy, what you will find is fluff and character development, stories I wanted to tell that I couldn't find a reasonable place to fit into what I've already told, or things I didn't want to shoehorn in. Unlike my usual, I will be naming the sections, and you'll get a clue as to how long it's been since the Gotham Quake. (The show never gave the year, so I've kept with that on purpose.) In addition, as per my usual, the entire story is written, but will updated every two to three days or so.

As usual, I give a heartfelt thanks to IllusoryGentleman, who's been a constant source of support for me, and a constant source of better lemony goodness than I produce. Go give him a read please, he's a badass and deserves the readership.

Also, as usual, I aboslutely love interacting with my readers, so please, drop me a PM, and especially a review.

* * *

July 29th  
London  
1500 GMT  
Two Months after the Quake

"Okay, I officially hate international flight." Deke said upon exiting Heathrow into the greater city. "Please remind me to like, not do it anymore." He added, stretching big and wide. Beside him, a much more chipper and wide-eyed Barbara stood to his left, her emotions a bright jumble of excited and curious. To his other side was Aasha, who was just as much a mixed bag, though the excitement was tempered with an undercurrent of worry. She'd been turning into a bigger and bigger ball of fret as the days had past to their flight, and despite getting the stamp on her shiny new American passport, the tiny sorceress was still feeling the worry of how her parents were going to feel.

"C'mon Cowboy, you're just mad we flew business class." Barabra said, poking him in the side softly. "If we'd flown first class like you wanted, you'd be a lot happier. Plus, could have been worse, it was a commercial flight. Try doing Gotham to Tibet in a World War Two era cargo plane."

"There's room to lay down in a cargo plane." Deke grumbled, trying desperately to work the stiffness out of his knees. He took the time to look around and take in the country though. Much like Aasha, he'd gotten his first stamp on his own passport, since his trips to other countries were technically illegal. What he saw didn't necessarily bother him though. He'd been worked up into England being a dull and gloomy place, full of fog and rain, but there was bright summer sunshine and a nice breeze in the air.

"So, shall we hail a taxi then?" Aasha said, screwing up the nerve to carry on with things. What had begun as a trip to see her family had been snowballing into being told she was a terrible daughter and a disappointment to everything her parents believed in. Given she'd been conceived through magic and alchemy, what they believed in was kind of messed up.

"Yes please." Barbara said, shouldering her bag and digging her phone from her pocket. She smiled and showed the screen of her Q-Phone off, reading full signal. "QCore as a mobile carrier is amazing. I love this." She added, still so damn chipper, as she searched for ride sharing services in the London area.

"We could get a proper black cab if you'd prefer." Aasha said, pointing to the several stationed outside the airport for hire. "English cabbies are largely delightful people."

"I'd say it's your country, but it isn't anymore. All the same, it's still your trip babe, we're just along for the ride." Barbara said, looking at her girlfriend with a patient eye. She had a short shopping list for Alfred, and wanted to pick Bette up something fun, but other than that, she'd specifically made no plans to remain as flexible as possible.

"Okay then, traditional cab it is." Aasha said, reaching for her own bag but seeing it on the shoulder of her boyfriend, who just smiled sweetly at her. "Thank you love." She said, and led the three of them to one of the taxis. Picking one largely at random, she poked her head towards the window and waved politely to the cabbie.

"Are you for hire?" she asked, when the older gentleman with the salt and pepper hair turned to acknowledge her. He tipped his button bill cap politely to her and turned off the 'For Hire' light off on the roof of his cab.

"Yes ma'am, I am. Hop in. Shall I help with the luggage then?" He asked, reaching for the door handle.

"No thanks, I got it." Deke said pleasantly, stepping around to the back of the taxi. He popped the hatch open and set his bag, and Aasha's in, and then reached out for Barbara's. She handed it to him and tipped him with a peck on the cheek, and together they climbed into the back of the taxi.

"Where to Miss?" The cabbie asked genially. He turned around to really look at his passengers for a minute, the unique fares he would take was part of why he'd gotten into the business in the first place, and these three were no exception. The dark tan and obvious accent from the man screamed American, and the clothing said the sexy redhead was too, though she looked so bloody Irish it hurt. The little Indian was a cute thing, despite the gloomy clothing she chose to wear.

"We need a fair hotel that's nearest to number seventeen Northampton street please." Aasha said pleasantly. When the cabbie didn't even bother with the GPS, she had a feeling they were in excellent hands. Easily, he pulled out onto the street, and began the process of navigating London traffic, though he snickered at the big man when he got onto the road proper.

"First time in the UK, innit Guv?" He asked, tilting his head back a bit to speak to his fares through the window.

"How'd you guess?" Deke drawled, getting comfortable in the back bench seats of the taxi, which had to have been about a thousand times more comfortable than the airplane seats. That he was able to have the women in his life properly cuddled up against him might have helped him arrive at that opinion.

"You jumped when I was driving on the left side o' the road." The cabbie said with a snicker. "Gets you Yanks every time. What about the lady though? Your first visit, miss?"

"No, it's my third. I got to come for a school trip several years ago for the first time." Barbara said pleasantly as they wove about the bustling city. "I also had the benefit of being acquainted with an Englishman who was able to give me plenty of tips."

"Izzat right Miss? Good friend to have, an Englishman, or an Englishwoman for that matter. The other young lady, you bring some friends from overseas in for a vacation? Cause if you did, you picked a right nice time to invite them." The cabbie commented, navigating the traffic easily and calmly.

"It _is_ lovely, isn't it?" Aasha commented in a friendly tone. "And no, I'm coming home to visit my parents, so I brought them with me. We lived in Gotham." She said, letting that statement hang. When it had gotten out that they had been Gotham residents, the neighbors up and down the road where Deke's family house stood had all gathered together and brought food, many of them trying to offer money, and that was not an uncommon story for the displaced survivors either.

"Oh, Gotham. Right nasty piece of work that was, Miss. I arsked the missus if we could offer a few pounds to the fund they was buildin', all us cabbies put in a bit. Heard the Met dropped a fair bit too, and a bunch of 'em tried to volunteer over there." Their cabbie replied.

"It's been amazing all of the outpouring of help." Barbara said with a smile. "I'm the Gotham native, and seeing my city crumble wasn't easy. When so many countries started offering aid, it made me feel happy to be alive again."

"I imagine so Miss. I wouldn't wanna think of something similar happenin' here. You said you sawr it crumble though. You was actually in town when it happened?" The cabbie asked, moderating his tone so as not to upset his fares despite being extremely curious about the whole situation. Sky had covered plenty, but he'd yet to speak to any Yanks who'd actually been there.

Barbara nodded, feeling her boy's hand squeezing hers lightly, and also feeling an undercurrent of thought from him telling her the cabbie was just curious, not asking out of malice. "Yes, all three of us were at an art gallery. Our friend here had some of her work hanging when it happened. We were extremely lucky the building was less than three years old, and built with good materials."

"I'd imagine so, and I'm happy you was in a safe building. You're about the nicest Yanks I've hauled all week. I keep gettin' the busy businessmen who can't keep off their mobiles. Kind of refreshing, that." The Cabbie said thoughtfully. His genial attitude was infectious, helping to break Aasha out of the bleak study her fears had driven her further and further into. It was obvious to her lovers too, who glanced at one another with a knowing glance. 

* * *

After arriving at their hotel, which was a rather comfortable and modern looking affair, Aasha beelined to the bathroom, leaving Deke and Barbara to stretch out on the single king sized bed. "That cabbie was so sweet. I hope something wonderful happens to him today." Barbara said. She was laid out with her knees hanging off the left side of the bed, while Deke was mirroring her on the right, so when she said it, it was to his upside down face, causing a small giggle from her.

"Yeah, nice fella. I'm just glad I was prepped, cause otherwise I wouldn't've understood half of what he was saying without breaking into his thoughts." Deke replied, stealing an upside down kiss from his girl.

"Cockney, Cowboy. It can be tricky but he wasn't too bad." Barbara retorted, taking in the smooth light gray walls and clean lines of their room, and judging it worth the money Aasha was spending. She'd insisted so firmly on them not spending their money on this trip, that it left Barbara more than a little worried about her personal finances. What they'd kept from their FEMA fund was enough to float for a good long while, given that three major corporations were matching it, but it still required budgeting and restraint, something their girlfriend seemed to never consider with her own money after the bills were paid.

Aasha exited the bathroom looking far more relieved, and plopped down on the bed with them. "So, are we napping, or are we going to go ahead and do the things?" she asked, not sure where her opinion was on that spectrum. She'd slept most of the flight, as had Barbara, but she knew Deke hadn't been able to get comfortable enough to, and his more terse attitude was showing because of it.

"Might as well go and do the things." Deke said, feeling her thoughts clearly, and realizing she was perfectly right. "I could use a shower though, and I'm sure Babs is as hungry as I am."

"Right, about that. My mum will feed us, whether we want her to or not. I haven't called to tell her we're in a room yet, as that will spark an argument all its own, so I'd like to give her the win on dinner if it's all the same." Aasha said sourly. She did not want the argument as to why her family home wasn't good enough to stay in, despite the fact she was traveling with two people.

"We're just along for the ride and the support sweetie." Deke said, forcing himself to sit up before the girls would be forced to jump up and down on him to wake him. He would have been less tired if he'd just flown himself, he firmly believed.

Aasha watched him start undressing, and took the opportunity to scoot around and get closer to Barbara, who she curled up against and stole a quick kiss. "I'll kiss him shortly for the same reason, but thank you again for agreeing to come with me. I need this support."

"No Ash, you don't." Barbara said, rolling over onto her side and giving her girlfriend a look before explaining herself. "You don't need us to support you, you're tough enough on your own, but it's nice to have that backup and you know we're happy to give it."

"She's right." Deke said, standing there in his underwear and digging through his suitcase. "And you said yourself that you're probably blowing this way further out of proportion than it'll wind up being. They fled India to give you a life, and you're living it, that's as far from squandering their effort as it gets."

"Yes, you're right, I just can't shake the worry." Aasha said worriedly. "Something's bothering me, and I don't know if it's because I'm afraid of being judged or what. It's nothing precognitive or anything, don't worry about that."

"Why would we be worried about that?" Barbara asked, also sitting up, and taking the opportunity to swat her boy on the butt as he walked past, a smile on her face at him wearing the underwear she'd bought him.

"I was talking to Pacifica the other day, and I mentioned it, and she brought up the precognitive effects that can bleed over from the harnessing of sorcery. I spent a good long time meditating on that to make sure it wasn't the case." Aasha explained, also going to her suitcase to dig out fresh clothes.

"Well, okay then." Barbara replied, drawing her feet under her like a tailor and watching her girlfriend try to sort herself out. When it was clear she was just going to worry herself to death, Barbara realized she needed to do something, and quickly. "Ash, come here please." She requested, and patted the bed.

"Okay." Aasha said, and slipped onto the bed. She squeaked when Barbara tackled her down, and then got very confused when she slipped a leg over her hips to straddle her. "Babs, love?"

From her position above her girlfriend, Barbara leaned down, almost touching noses with her. "Aasha Kathryn, you are killing yourself worrying. Now you are going to be a good girl and stop worrying about everything, until you have a reason to worry, am I clear?"

"Yes Miss." Aasha said reflexively, too startled to be turned on by the treatment. To be fair, it _was_ Babs' job as her part-time Domme to keep her in place and even-keeled. It just wasn't something she'd ever really exercised, as much as a lack of necessity as well as a desire to allow Aasha to live by her own choices. In this moment, though, it was critical, and while not the support she thought she needed, it was definitely the support that helped the most.

"Feeling better now?" Barbara asked, dismounting from her position of power over the girl to lay back down beside her. She stroked Aasha's hair and kissed her softly on the cheek, reminding her how much she cared despite having to show her who was boss again.

"I am." Aasha said in a distant, comfortable voice. "I think I'm going to go bother Deke in the shower to keep from fretting more, care to join me?"

"I absolutely do. Are we teasing or annoying?" Barbara asked, pleased to hear Ash taking charge of her concerns instead of just burying them to hide them away. She sat up and watched her girlfriend do the same.

"Neither, I'd planned on being a little pervert and just staring at him. I suppose that might get annoying as I'm in no place to do anything about it for the moment, but I don't much think he'll mind." Aasha said, strolling easily into the bathroom and being preceded by a giant steam cloud when she'd opened the door.

"Don't mind us, we're just keeping distracted for the time being. Please take your time." Barbara said, slipping up on the sink while Aasha closed the toilet seat and perched on it. In the shower, Deke paused, grinned at both girls, and flexed, before returning to rinsing his hair out, a silly look on his face the whole time.


	2. Chapter 2 The UK Trip

July 29th  
London  
1850 GMT  
Two Months after the Quake

"So, here we are." Aasha said, standing in front of the door of the row house, built on a street full of them. Behind her, Deke and Barbara stood, he in clean jeans and plain white tee shirt, she in a knee length skirt and loose lavender bell sleeve top. Aasha raised her hand, hovered it over the doorbell, and paused. When she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, one big and strong, the other smaller but just as loving, she sighed and pressed the button.

They waited there for a minute or two, Aasha doing so patiently in her simple leggings and longer tee shirt. She'd removed her darker makeup and gone with something more conservative, so it left her standing there looking more 'normal' than she had in a few weeks.

When the door opened, a respectably large, gray haired and bearded fellow of very obvious Indian descent stood there. "Hello dad." Aasha said, before getting grabbed up and pulled tight to his body. She squeaked but returned his embrace, leaving Deke and Barbara exchanging knowing looks. She'd worked herself up for nothing, so far as it seemed.

"Aasha, come in, bring your friends." This man said, his body language somewhere between patient and closed off. It looked a lot like he wasn't sure what the neighbors would think of him having people over, and the hurried way he ushered them inside wasn't exactly dispelling that. On their way up the stairs, Barbara glanced at her boy, who had a puzzled look on his face. He'd felt something but he wasn't being forthright about what it was yet.

Once inside, they were greeted by what had to be the plainest residence in all of England. From the entrance of the narrow row house, it appeared to have been staged to sell the place, with the most neutral and boring furniture. If it weren't for the smells of incense and the unmistakable aromas of Indian cuisine, the whole of the visible residence could have been easily used for sales demonstrations.

"Lal, come to me!" Aasha's father said, once he'd closed the door behind them. Aasha slipped up into his arms again, giggling and squealing happily, as his greeting had changed from a simple but heartfelt hello to one of genuine longing. "Padma, your daughter is home!" he called out, turning his head towards the upstairs, still not releasing his daughter.

[Good grief, it looks like she got pulled outta the crack of his ass.] Deke said to Barbara telepathically. Aasha and her father shared so many facial features that it was almost terrifying, their nose perhaps the most telling. [What'd her mom do, just carry her for a while?]

"No, she has her mother's eyes." Aasha's father said, turning to look at his other guests, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. When he saw his large male guest rock back on his feet, he grinned. "You weren't expecting that, were you?"

"No sir, I don't reckon I was." Deke said in a quietly shocked tone, his embarrassed reaction compounded by Barbara poking him in the ribs.

"I told you that was going to come around to bite you." Barbara said in a scolding tone, inwardly happy he'd made a polite observation when it came back to haunt him.

"Aasha has told me a good deal about you, more the gentleman than the lady. Where are my manners though? I am Jay, the woman coming down the stairs is Padma, my wife." Aasha's father said in introduction.

"Daddy, Mum, this is Deke and Barbara, my roommates." Aasha said, glancing up the stairs to see her mother coming down. She was dressed colorfully, in a bright red and saffron dress, but it was plain Aasha had inherited more than her eyes, as the woman couldn't have been more than five feet tall.

"You're in time," Padma said, wasting none of her own and moving directly towards the kitchen. "I was just about to make dinner, come to the kitchen with me and we can talk there."

And just like that, they followed the small, matronly woman with the long black braid of hair into the small kitchen. Like the rest of the place, it was so plain, but there was a certain vibrant energy contained within. "Aasha, we saw you on the news. Why didn't you call us?" Jay asked, pulling out a chair and gesturing for his guests to join him. Deke declined to sit, since that's all he'd really been doing, and leaned against a blank wall, out of the way.

"I was busy all day, getting ready for the induction ceremony, and then, finalizing my citizenship." Aasha said, pulling her passport out of her pocket and setting it in front of her father.

Immediately, his face took on a sorrowful look, though he shook it when he saw her picture. "Your photograph is beautiful. That's very hard to do. I suppose this does mean we're not going to be seeing more of you than this, is it?"

"That's not true Daddy, I'd just been so busy trying to get work, and a place to live, not to mention the _other_ things going on." Aasha countered, feeling encouraged by the way Babs was brushing her hip with the back of her fingers. "Plus, travel isn't cheap after all."

"Maybe if you'd saved your money instead of buying _those_ , you'd have more money to travel." Padma said, pulling food out of the refrigerator and setting it on the counter.

"Mum!" Aasha all but shrieked, mortified that she'd been called out so plainly, and in front of her father. "You agreed with me that it was a good decision!"

"Yes, to find a husband, which you've yet to do." Padma said with a frown. It was clear that this opinion wasn't one shared by both of her parents, as Jay put his hand on his daughter's and spoke up quickly, his tone calm and easy, something it was plain he was doing because of their guests.

"Are you worried your daughter's beauty will fade so soon? Look in the mirror. You're still turning plenty of heads when you go anywhere. _If_ she chooses to marry, she has all the time in the world." Jay said, softening the blow a bit. "Welcome to the Nagra household. If not this, it's cricket. We must fight about something or else we might cease to exist."

Padma sighed and turned her back to the kitchen, going about the business of preparing dinner. "Fine. Aasha, can you help me at least please?"

"Actually, ma'am, I'm fair in the kitchen, I've been cooped up on a plane all day, and I take direction pretty well." Deke offered, seeing a chance to run interference on Aasha's mom, maybe figure out a way to improve the mood a little.

Padma gave a dismissive shrug. "Fine, the chicken needs taken apart." She said, stepping to the side, and starting on preparing vegetables. Deke stepped up aside her and set about the task of breaking the bird down for whatever the woman was preparing.

"So, about earlier though?" Barbara asked, glancing around. "I feel like I should ask about how you heard him. That's new."

It was Padma who answered that one as she sliced up some carrots. "Aasha said she'd told you about her, and him we recognized from the television, so you know about her conception?"

Barbara nodded. "Yes ma'am, more or less."

"There was a time when Jay and I were much more interesting people, but that came at the price of the people we associated with in New Delhi. Even though we fled in nineteen ninety five, some of the tricks we picked up, we never lost, which was for the best. I'm glad to see she's not wasting herself with what she was given." Padma explained, a mournful look in her eyes.

"Forgive me, but I don't think she's wasting anything." Barbara said in a careful tone. She wanted to snap, hearing that kind of negativity and expectation projected onto her girlfriend. She had no way to know, but she imagined that's exactly what her mother would have behaved like had she been in Aasha's shoes. "She's the youngest assistant curator at one of the most prestigious art galleries in Gotham, and one of the most lovely human beings I've ever had the opportunity to meet."

"That's not actually entirely true love." Aasha said, turning to look at Barbara. "I'm not a human being, not in the strictest sense, am I Mum?"

Padma shook her head. "The goal was to conceive a magically superior being. If she came out the way they wanted, more of the cult would have tried the same techniques we used. We left when we learned she was meant to be bred and nothing else."

"Homo Magi." Deke said, finishing up with the chicken. "There's a five page chapter in one of my xenobiology books. TL;DR is good luck with that one pal, we're not even sure this is real."

Aasha nodded. "According to Zatanna, I'm, for all intents and purposes, Homo Magi. You got the part _you_ wanted at least." 

* * *

Aasha stood outside in the small back yard, her bare feet touching the grass and being tickled by the evening dew. She knelt down beside her mother's small herb garden and let her fingertips brush the leaves of the plants. Each small touch perked them, bringing them full and out as she encouraged them to grow in the light of the full moon.

"I only wanted you to live a normal life." Aasha heard her mother say, and turned to look at her as she exited the back door. She sat down on the tiny stoop, a weary expression on her face. "Sometimes I forget what you and I consider normal aren't the same thing sometimes."

"Mum, I…" Aasha began, but her mother cut her off, this time far more gently than before.

"No, Lal. You're going to apologize. Please don't. Your roommate is quite fiercely protective of you. I don't believe another woman has stared daggers into me quite as deeply as she did, and if you'd had the opportunity to meet your grandmother, you would understand why I'm so impressed." Padma said, the memory of Barbara's silent displeasure quite firmly in her mind.

"I'm loved, Mum. I can't ask for more than that in this life." Aasha explained as she strolled onto the steps to join her mother, surprised it wasn't Deke she was worried about having to speak in defense of.

"No, you can't. Your father and I, we love you too though. We fled India, gave away everything we owned, to give you the opportunities you've been given. Again, I forget that you and I are different women. Though, I feel compelled to remind you that the boy is becoming a doctor. If your friend changes her mind about things…"

"Mum, please no." Aasha giggled, deciding to keep her relationship status firmly questionable where her parents were concerned. "I'm a superhero now. You and dad gave me the opportunity to save lives, and help people. If that's not a firm piss off to the people you ran from, then I don't know what is."

"You're correct, of course. Aasha, Lal, I have to ask though, with all of that, are you fulfilled? Does your life bring you joy?" Padma asked, running her fingers through her daughter's hair lovingly. The last time she'd had the opportunity, Aasha had been wearing a Mohawk.

"Yes Mum. I'm using my education doing something I dearly love. In fact, I had three pieces showing in a gallery the day of the quake. My roommates love me, like you saw plain as day, and I love them too, dearly so. I have so many friends from so many different places, and I've had more opportunity than you can imagine." Aasha said dreamily. "I've been to the island of the Amazons, in fact."

"I would love to hear more about that. Themyscira was still legend when your father and I were digging through ancient texts for fun." Padma replied almost as dreamily, remembering the magic of her youth. "As was Atlantis. Have you seen it as well?"

"No, although once the environmental differences can be worked out, I've been invited to see it by one of my teammates. I'm excited for it." Aasha said, relaxing into her mother's touch. "If I'm allowed to photograph, I'll send you what I can."

"Atlantean legend was your father's dream, not mine, but I think we might enjoy some of the old magic of discovery. All the same, forgive my outbursts earlier. I wasn't in a good frame of mind. You'd gone so far from us, I wasn't sure if I'd still know, or recognize my daughter in the woman you've become. My concern blinded me." Padma said apologetically.

"Well I come by _that_ honestly, I suppose. Barbara was kind enough to help me get my head on right before we came over. I'd been so worried about what coming home was going to be like that I had myself worked into such a horrid bundle of nerves." Aasha replied bashfully. "I fully expected you and dad would have already arranged something with the parents of a lawyer or accountant or something, or wouldn't even accept me anymore."

"Aasha, your father and I will always accept you, where did it get that rubbish idea in your head that we wouldn't?" Padma asked, sounding a bit hurt that Aasha would even consider such a thing.

"I don't know Mum. I reckon because we're so different, you and I. You always seemed so disappointed in me when I was younger." Aasha answered honestly, wishing she had a glass or two of wine with this conversation.

"I was disappointed that you seemed like you didn't care about your heritage, but I was never disappointed in you. Given the way your roommates ate, I imagine you might be regretting not learning how to cook though." Padma chided.

"There's that." Aasha said with a nod. "I tell them frequently that they eat more Indian food than I had."

"I'll email you some easy recipes, maybe there's the place we can try to start over again."

"I'd like that Mum, I'd like that very much." Aasha replied, turning to look at her mother in the soft English moonlight. "Are the wards still holding in the house? I can strengthen them again if you'd like."

"And take away our Sunday evening routine? No Aasha, they're holding just fine, and keeping them that way keeps us in practice. You can keep working my herb garden over if you're feeling helpful." Padma replied softly. "Tomorrow, we'll get up early and have a day."

"I'd love that too Mum." Aasha said, padding back to the herb garden to delicately brush the leaves and encourage them to grow, the faint trickle of magical power it took feeling like tickling a single hair instead of the herculean effort it once was, and also reminding her she needed to properly commune with The Green where the rooftop garden of the Hacienda was concerned.

"Can you answer something for me? Daddy would never give me an honest answer." Aasha asked after a beat, deciding she already had the courage to ask it.

"Yes Aasha, I will answer you honestly." Padma replied, glancing over to her beloved daughter, standing barefoot in the garden just like she would have done in her same position.

"I know I was planned, but did you and Daddy want me? Was I just an experiment?" Aasha asked, her tone so calm and serene in the moonlight. "My roommate was an experiment, and there are times I think I know how he feels."

"Aasha, this will sound poor of us, but let me finish before you judge your father and I." Padma began, knowing there was absolutely no good way to explain this without sounding awful. "We didn't want a family when the cult asked us to try. We were young, and married, and foolish, which were three things the elders needed. When I felt you kick for the first time, that's when I knew I wanted you, and you know how you father dotes on you. That is want no matter how you look at it." Padma explained.

"I can accept that." Aasha said, the plants beneath her fingers still trying to reach to the moonlight. "I needed to know. I don't mind how I started Mum, I just needed to know so I know how to continue. Can't finish the book if some of the pages are blank and all that."

"Your book is long unfinished. Fill the pages with love and courage, Lal." Padma replied, coming into the garden with her daughter, and extending a hand over a small patch of basil, letting the serenity of the evening guide her as she joined her daughter in growing. Both the plants, and themselves.


	3. Chapter 3 Saying Goodbye

September 5th  
Destin Florida  
1052 CST  
Four Months after the Quake

The Hacienda was mostly empty, which was how Maddie tended to like it. She could sleep late, eat when she wanted, fuck as loud as she liked, and in general relax herself more than she otherwise could. Speaking of fucking loudly, Will was asleep in his bed, quietly snoring, which left Maddie sitting up with a self-satisfied grin on her face. "I warned you and you just wouldn't listen." She said quietly, placing a small kiss on the side of his head before slipping out of his bed and back into her room.

Unlike most of the women she knew, Maddie considered sex an excellent reward for most anything, and Will had shown his thoughtful side the night before when he'd cooked her dinner for no good reason at all. She'd tried telling him she was extra-impressive when she was feeling grateful, and he just hadn't thought through just how much until she'd left him rode hard and put away wet.

She pulled her phone out, synced it with the Bluetooth speaker in her bathroom, and pulled up a good shower playlist, before washing their collected sweat from her body. "Need to get Kris to up the bass on that thing." She muttered to herself, not perfectly satisfied at the output on her speaker.

When the song switched suddenly from what she'd been listening to, to her ringtone, she turned the water off and popped the door open. "Answer call." She said to her Q-Phone, using voice commands to take advantage of the speaker in the shower.

"Hello?" She said, not sure who'd be calling. Ash was in Kentucky with Deke and Babs. Liho and Pacifica were in Honolulu. Kris was overseas somewhere and wouldn't say where exactly. Will was asleep, and Ingrid was Jilling off in the shop if she was keeping to routine.

"Madeline, it's Gram." Her grandmother said, her voice emanating from the shower speaker. The slow, quiet tone she was using told Maddie more in those three words than the rest of the conversation would.

"Mom?" Maddie asked, taking a seat in the small tub and pulling her legs to her chest.

"Yes Madeline. Fifteen minutes ago. I'll talk to you in person soon." Her grandmother said, with none of the judgement or derision in her voice, just a quietly restrained sorrow. When the call ended, Maddie just sat there in her tub, at first fighting her tears, before finally letting them come. She'd worn Will out enough that he wasn't waking up any time soon, and she'd always cried quietly, when it happened at all.

Once she'd let her tears run their course, Maddie stood back up and turned the water back on, so she could finish rinsing her hair out. As her hands went through the motions, she felt hollow, like she'd cried out more than just tears, but her reason for crying in the first place too. "Call Ash." She said after poking her head out the shower door again.

It rang twice while she sat back down. "Hello Mads!" Aasha greeted sweetly. Good, it meant she wasn't interrupting them or anything, Maddie thought, as she turned the hot water on to a slow trickle so she could get a shave in, and not be loud enough to interfere with the call.

"Hey Ash, you got a minute chick?" Maddie asked, the stinging burn of the hot water crawling up her body and into her more delicate regions serving to ground her out and force her perspective back where it belonged.

"I certainly do, just doing some laundry. What can I do for you?" Aasha asked, the sunshine in her voice coming out over the speaker better than the bass of Maddie's music by so much more.

"Can you tell Deke and Babs I'm calling you all due? I'm heading up to the Hamptons in three hours. I wouldn't hate the company for this." Maddie said, sniffling. She reached over and added a bit of cold water to the tub before she boiled her labia beyond use, and relaxed back into the tub again.

"Oh dear, of course. I'll tell them straight away, the moment they return from the grocery store. Where shall we meet you?" Aasha asked, her voice still so sweet and endearing, and so loving and kind all at once. Her pain for her friend was plainly clear.

"I'll head up to you in about an hour. I'm leaving Will a note, it's too early to subject him to this and he doesn't have the code to get to Deke's house. It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission for this one." Maddie said, wanting to grab her can of shaving cream and just crush it in her grip to see a reaction.

"Of course, I'm also making lunch, I'll lay out extra for you." Aasha said lovingly. 

* * *

Maddie walked into Deke's kitchen and prepared herself. As she'd expected, there was a tacklehug from Aasha, who wrapped her little arms around and squeezed tight. What she hadn't expected was Deke and Babs joining in too, threatening to crush her under the pressure.

"Okay guys, I knew it was coming." Maddie said, though she hadn't exactly let go of Ash or Deke either. At least Babs had the decency to let go when she was asked, though the concerned look on her face was still quite telling.

"Let her go guys, come on, she still needs to breathe as far as I'm aware." Barbara said, stepping to the side to give her lovers room to maneuver. "You doing okay Mads?"

"Had the good cry earlier. I think I'm good for now." Maddie said, and pulled one of the chairs away from the kitchen table and sat herself down. "Can I get a beer though?"

"I might have one or two." Deke said thoughtfully, moving to the fridge. He drank so rarely that it was hard telling if he had any, or if they were even still in date if he did. "I know there's a bottle of moscato in here though if you want wine."

"No thanks, I don't do whites unless it's an outdoor party." Maddie said, joined at the table by Babs. Aasha sat a plate of curried beef and rice in front of her and took the other seat. "Thanks for this Ash, but there'll be food up there already."

"And there's time for that then. Now is now." Aasha said, nudging the plate closer. "Besides, I worked extra hard on this and I want opinions from people who aren't sleeping with me."

"Rub it in why don't you?" Maddie said, though she gave a shit eating grin to Deke and Barbara after a few seconds. "Okay, fine, I'll try it." She said, and shoveled a forkful into her mouth. While it wasn't the best Japanese curry she'd ever eaten, it wasn't necessarily bad either. She was about to pass judgement when her phone rang. With a full mouth, she frowned and slid it towards Barabra, with a 'get on with it' motion of her hands.

"Hello, Maddie's phone." Barbara said pleasantly enough. She'd noticed the caller ID had said Will, and Aasha had further explained that Maddie had just left him a note. This was not a call she wanted to be in the middle of.

"Okay, yeah, I'll tell her. Yes, of course, I'd be happy to. Okay, bye." Barbara said, and set Maddie's phone back down. "He asked that you call when you have enough time, and to tell you he's going to be handy if you need him. I've got to ask though, Mads, what'd you say on your note? He sounded extremely patient and worried."

Finally finished chewing, Maddie swallowed her food down and followed it with a drink of beer. "That's good Ash, and I told him the truth actually. I lost mom, and I didn't think we were at a point in our relationship where he needed to be subjected to my family. I might have gotten a little flowery, but that's the gist."

September 5th  
Southampton New York  
1505 EST  
Five Months after the Quake

Barbara shut the engine off to the rental car, a newer Jaguar that Maddie had managed to flirt into an upgrade from the base model sedan she'd booked, and exited the vehicle. Deke, Aasha, and Maddie all exited as well, and paused to look at the rather grand house on the beach of Long Island. Huge in a way that put it in Wayne Manor's weight class, it was sunbleached white in a plantation style, with grand columns and perfectly manicured front lawn.

"I can feel the psychic resonance in the place, it's so heavy." He said with a sigh, feeling underdressed for the place. Aasha patted his arm and then stepped up to walk alongside Maddie, while Barbara clutched his hand and followed behind them.

"Guys, I can't do this." Maddie said, her foot not even on the first step to the grand porch. "I just can't."

"Sure you can. You've beat Black Adam, twice." Aasha reminded her softly, giving her friend's hand a squeeze, and waiting. She wouldn't drag Maddie anywhere she didn't want to go, even if she was physically capable of it. "There's nothing in there that can hurt you."

"Thanks Ash, but there is, and I've got to do it, I just really don't want to." Maddie said, squeezing her eyes shut and taking the rest of the stairs up. She still paused with her finger over the doorbell, but pressed it anyway.

Gram opened the door like she'd been standing there snooping, and just looked at her granddaughter. "Madeline, thank you for coming so quickly, we have a lot to discuss. Bring your friends inside, there's food from the neighbors."

"C'mon guys," Maddie said with a halfhearted welcoming gesture. She entered the house she grew up in, not that it had felt like home after she'd hit her teens, and led her friends into the den. There were other people there, relatives she was only vaguely aware she had, and some of the neighbors.

[That's Senator Lackland. He's one of the people that want to push the bill to declassify Metas as human.] Deke said to Barbara telepathically; a frown on his face. In recent days, that bill was gaining some momentum in the House, despite President Yates' constant assurances that she would veto any such bill if it ever even survived the floor or the vote.

[I don't like him either, but we need to be civil for Maddie's sake. I asked Bruce if we could use his house here to avoid paying for a hotel, and he was agreeable to it, by the way.] Barbara replied, relieved when he'd sent the text that gave his permission. By his own admission he'd almost forgotten he owned the place.

[Cool, I'll tell Mads. I'm just glad we don't have to dance around it now that we're all League.] Deke said, taking a lean against one of the decorative interior columns in the den, allowing the ladies to nab the last available seating, a small leather love seat that probably cost more than the Jag they'd rented.

"Maddie," the woman heard at her side, the voice immediately recognizable. "Uhm, can I ask you a question?" Drew asked, tugging her hand.

"Yes Drew, let's go outside, okay?" Maddie asked, letting the little gentleman in his new navy polo shirt and khakis pull her towards the back door. They stepped outside, and Maddie took a seat on the patio furniture so she could put herself at Drew's eye level. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Maddie, Uncle Braeden said you were my mom and didn't want me." He said, cutting directly to the point. At his words, Maddie felt her chin quiver and her eyes stars tearing up again, so she just pulled him closer and held onto him for a long minute. "It made me cry."

"I wanted you Drew, I wanted to be your mom so much but I was bad." Maddie said, still clutching tightly to her son. "I was bad and you didn't deserve me as a mommy, okay? I love you so much though, you know that, right?"

"I know you love me Maddie." Drew said, still calling her by her given name, and that might have stung worst of all. "I love you too. How were you bad?" he asked, not sure why she was crying so hard. Grams had told her what had happened, she told him as much.

"I was just very bad, okay? I didn't know how to be a mom and I'm sure I still don't. Do you remember when I told you about being selfish?" She asked, struggling hard at this point and not entirely sure why. When he nodded, she continued. "I was very selfish."

"You told me it was bad to be selfish." Drew said, finally just deciding it would be easier to climb in her lap, which she seemed perfectly fine with. "Was that why you had to pretend?"

"Yes Drew, that's why. I can't make this up to you and I'm sorry, okay? I'm so sorry, this is messed up enough, you didn't need this." Maddie said with a sniff. "Drew honey, please forgive me."

"Okay Maddie." Drew said, having his own cry mostly because she was. "Why are you crying? You said you were sorry for being selfish. Are you in trouble?" He asked, kissing her on the cheek to try and make her happy.

"I don't know, I don't know much of anything right now, okay? Would you like to play with Aasha again?" Maddie asked, not wanting to bring the little fellow down as bad as she was at the moment.

"I love Aasha, yes please." Drew said, sniffling. "And I promise not to be selfish with my toys too." 

* * *

Inside, Barbara noticed her boy developing a rather unpleasant look on his face. She stood up after patting Aasha on the leg, and walked over to him, where he hadn't moved since posting up in the first place. "You okay Cowboy?" she asked, rubbing his shoulder and arm lightly.

Deke nodded. "Yeah, lotta pressure in here." He replied, not wanting to give away someone else's business like that, especially over something this critical. The intense pain and suffering he could feel from Maddie was rolling off of her in waves big enough to drown him. It was times like this that being psychic sucked.

A few of the people, who had been quietly discussing everything but the passing of Maddie's mother, stopped talking and looked up, drawing attention. Barbara noticed Maddie walking in holding what she could only guess to be Maddie's son's hand. The two of them walked over to Aasha, the little fellow seeming in better spirits when he really noticed her sitting there.

Smiling, Aasha walked off with Drew, heading to his room, which gave Maddie a chance to join her friends. "God help me for saying this, but I need you two. Can we talk?"


	4. Chapter 4 Saying Goodbye

September 7th  
Southampton New York  
1400 EST  
Four Months after the Quake

Maddie wasn't in the best of shape, but she didn't need to be. Aasha, Babs, Deke, Kris, and Liho were standing with her, all of them dressed funeral appropriate, even Liho, which she took as a kindness that he put a suit on for the day. In front of her, Drew stood, in his own little black suit, while Maddie rested her hands on his shoulders lightly.

"My brother got furlough to be here." Maddie said quietly, nudging Deke in the arm and nodding at the black Mercedes Braeden just exited from, looking much leaner and angrier than the last time either of them had seen him. That there was a noticeable bulge on both of his ankles and wrists under his suit might have something to do with it.

"He's being monitored of course." Kris said just as quietly, sensing the wireless signal the equipment was outputting. "They're like the collars too."

When the Priest stepped up to deliver the eulogy, the veteran Movers took their seats, with Drew simply climbing onto Maddie's lap. Again, it was good to have that support, as throughout the longwinded and only vaguely accurate description of her mother, Maddie could feel the occasional touches of her teammates, each of them so different all meaning the same thing. They were there, and they gave a damn.

When the priest asked if anyone had anything to say, Maddie raised her hand. Deke felt the collective pucker of every visitor's behinds, but Mads wouldn't be swayed. She stepped up to the small podium, adjusted her rather conservative dress to sit correctly after having been seated, and cleared her throat.

"Thank you Father Mayhew. Angelica Endicott was a lot of things. Mother to three, sister to two, and wife of, what was it, four?" She said, drawing a mixed reaction of snickers and gasps. "We had our issues a long while ago, things that we only recently got worked through. She said I turned out just like her, and if that's the case, I think the priest might have his work cut out for him."

Again there was a mixed bag of reactions, scandal and amusement in fairly equal measure, which was kind of her plan all along. "I was going to write down a list of who she actually liked, who she tolerated, and who she didn't much care for, but I think it's better to bury those opinions with her. Angelica, my mother, she wasn't one for beating around the bush, but she also wasn't one to hold an honest grudge, so for about eleven of you, you're off the hook. But, that also includes me I think, especially since she raised my son without thinking, or even batting an eye. She just did it, and what's funny, I found out yesterday she'd already gotten her diagnosis when she offered. Of course, she also got her expiration date, and she seemed to think that was a terrible idea so she ignored it for what? A year and a half? This past February she said she wasn't scheduling dying till autumn, so I'll give her, she was tough and punctual."

That one drew a few more quiet snickers, clearly something positive was worth cracking a smile about. "So, she raised me, Braeden, and Drew. At least Drew turned out good, yes sweetie I see you." She said, seeing him waving wildly at her with one hand, while clutching to Aasha's hand with the other. "I guess if there's a heaven, after putting up with me and my brother, her ticket cleared a while ago."

"In addition, I see two ex-husbands in the crowd, thanks for coming, and if it's any consolation, she liked you two better than the others, so it's clear her good judgement needs remarked on too." Maddie continued, smiling at a pair of gentlemen that had a small hand in raising her.

"So, I'm up here cracking jokes because let's face it; she outlived her fresh-by date, showed the world what she was made of, and left us peacefully. There's no point in crying, we've all shed what tears we've got to shed, let's see her off and get back to living our own lives, just like she did."

* * *

"Where's everyone?" Kris asked, leaning towards Barbara, once they were back at the Endicott house for the funeral reception. They were milling in the living room, away from the dining area and den where most everyone else was, except the vets, which left Kris curious as all get out. "There are powerful appetites among us and more food still sitting there untouched."

"Deke's keeping an eye on Braeden, or Dickweed as he's always called him. Ash and Liho are playing with Drew, and Maddie is in the office with her grandmother and brother. I just wanted to stay out of the way. Looks like you had the same idea." Barbara replied with a soft smile.

"Yes, too many people I don't know for my own tastes. May I talk to you a minute?" Kris asked, sitting down on the white suede sofa and giving Barbara enough room as well.

"Sure Kris, what's on your mind?" Barbara asked, smoothing her dress out and sitting. He had a peculiar look on his face, something between unsure and concerned, a trait she hadn't seen in him before, and he'd attended Arsenal's funeral, so she knew it wasn't just the mood of the day doing it to him.

"Deke offered to let me stay at his house if things got too uncomfortable for me. I know you and Aasha are living there now with him, but I'm having surgery soon and I was hoping I could rent a room for a few weeks while I recover. Will that be an imposition?" He said, more bashful than she'd seen.

"Is this _the_ surgery?" She asked curiously. She was indeed an inquisitive girl.

"Yes. I'm having it done in Los Angeles this winter so I can be well and healed by next spring." He replied, and she could tell by his attitude just exactly how nervous he was about the whole situation.

"It won't impose on me at all, and I'm willing to bet it won't for Ash either, and since he offered I'm guessing Deke won't mind. I'll remind him this evening to call you, how's that?" Barbara offered kindly.

"That would be wonderful. It's a point of no return for me, but it's something I _have_ to do. Speaking of living arrangements, Wayne Enterprises has hired me on as a civil engineering contractor. Once the Atlanteans raise the fourth island, I'll be working with a team of ten people to make it suitable for habitation. Do you have any requests?" He asked conspiratorially.

"A park, an honest to goodness park, please. Somewhere we can take the kids when we have them. Gotham had six parks but they were all so, well, you know." She said sourly, remembering when she found a used needle under some playground equipment when she was seven, and her dad's reaction to it.

"I know. Also, I've met some of these people, and a Mister Fox seemed to know more than he let on. I'm to tell you hello and ask why you've not come to see him in months." Kris said, remembering the kindly black man who was so much smarter than he acted or behaved.

"Lucius is a darling gentleman, I'll definitely have to go see him soon. After this it's back to Gotham for a while anyway so I have a good excuse."

* * *

Maddie sat alone in her old bedroom, almost nothing about it touched since she'd left what felt like a lifetime ago. All the posters hanging on the walls, the stuffed animals on her bed, and even her first vibrator still under the mattress, every bit reminded her of what could have been, if things had been different.

The lawyer that was executing her mother's wishes had been a delightful gentleman. He took one look at Braeden and told him his name was nowhere to be found since Angelica had amended her will six months ago, and asked him to give them the room. Maddie could only imagine the complaining the Federal Marshalls were hearing when they took him back to Belle Reve.

Grams had gotten fifteen percent of Angelica's estate, Drew had thirty percent locked up in a trust until his eighteenth birthday, and the rest had gone to Maddie. It wasn't a dramatic sum when compared to the rest of the Hamptons, but it was enough to pay her credit cards off and tie the rest up to work for her.

It had left her physical possessions, which were to be distributed to anyone who wanted them on a first come, first serve basis, and a simple box in the attic, like she'd promised. Within it were several physical photos, some ticket stubs to a few concerts like Nirvana and Soundgarden, and a DVD. It was this that Maddie was looking for, and she put it into the player beneath her tv.

Once loaded, it showed a younger and healthier Angelica, looking at the screen in a plain gray dress. "Maddie, Braeden, I'm sure you have questions. I hate that I can't watch this with you, but there were things I had to promise, and keeping your father a secret was one of them."

"I met him in ninety four on the beach. He was sitting there reading, and I had walked up to say hello. Maddie, given how you've turned out so far, I can safely say you're your mother's daughter. I was captivated from minute one and just had to be around him. Of course, I had a fiancé, but it's the Hamptons. I'm sure he was sleeping with my best friends, so I went out on a limb."

"It wasn't until I was pregnant with you Maddie, that he told me the truth. He wasn't from here, which might have been because Superman had just admitted he was an alien on television too. I called him a liar and told him he was just pulling my leg, but when he picked the car up, I had my answer. He wouldn't say much about where he was from, other than Earth was much nicer, and he wanted to stay. I asked if he could show me his spaceship, and he said he'd gotten here by some kind of teleporter, there's a drawing in the box."

"So, obviously Braeden, you and Maddie are full siblings, not half-siblings like I had to lie about for so long. I just hope you both forgive me for all of this, but of the men in my life, your father was the most amazing, and romantic, and caring. I just kept going back to him. But, like the old song goes, every rose has its thorn. I'm making this video the day I got the terminal verdict on my diagnosis, something your father was worried would happen, because of his alien biology. Bringing you both into the world was apparently what I was destined for. I wouldn't trade it for the world though."

"Also, in the box, there are instructions on how to contact him. It's an email address that I hope he checks often, and doesn't have the spam filters set too high. You both have to have questions, especially since you tried so hard to hide yourselves, and Maddie, you owe it to Drew to find out more for him too. Contact him. He goes by Max Evans here, but his name was Zan where he was from."

"So, this is me, and I love you both dearly. When I'm gone, please don't cry. I died to bring two beautiful children into this world, and I wouldn't change anything."

Maddie sat there quietly, the video going to static, and then a blue screen on her television. She almost wanted to go through the box, salvage one picture of her with this Max Evans, and just toss the rest and never worry about it again, except there was Drew. She didn't care if Braeden ever saw the video, he didn't deserve anything but what he'd gotten. Drew though, was the innocent bystander, and if there's one thing Maddie Endicott had learned, you never leave an innocent in harm's way.

So, she instead dug through the box, sifting through photos and love notes, before finding a postcard from Roswell New Mexico. On the back was an email address. No return address, just a postmark from ninety eight and a stamp. _Maximilliano93_ atq-mailit read, which gave her hope. Q-mail had gotten, and then remained, popular, thanks to Q-Core becoming such a big deal with the release of the highly popular QOS phones.

Feeling a sudden burst of motivation, she grabbed her phone from her bra and dashed off an extremely quick message. "Max, this is your daughter. I know the truth and I want to talk. Please reply to me." Is all it said, which was all it needed to say.

With that sent, she went back to digging around in the box. Mix CD's of music, more love notes and other little trinkets. When she got to the bottom and found an old sketch pad, she opened it up, immediately blushing as the first picture was a full length nude of her mother. Several more pages were filled with doodles and little sketches, of creatures she wasn't familiar with and assumed to be from Nishia, before getting to the last filled page.

It was a large ring, irregularly shaped, with small boxes connected by straight spars. Unlike the rest, this was in color, and within the ring was orange, shot through in a burst by red and yellow. The sight of it caused Maddie's heart to skip a beat and brought a shake to her hands. She'd seen one before. Several actually.

"Boom tube?" she said aloud, not entirely certain she trusted what she was looking at. The idea that the man responsible for her existence had come because of Darkseid scared the hell out of her, and very little actually scared her at all. She worried on occasion, got concerned on a rare now and then, but legitimately scared? That was so uncommon that she could count on one hand the number of times she'd experienced it.


	5. Chapter 5 Giving Thanks

November 23rd  
Greenup Kentucky  
1435 EST  
Six months after the quake

"Hey brother, glad you got here early. I could seriously use a hand." Deke said to Liho, the moment he and Pacifica had walked into the back door of the house. It showed too, with the kitchen of the house looking like a bomb had gone off. The stovetop was covered in cooking vessels, and the oven appeared to be in the process of baking something. "Shit, sorry Pacifica, welcome to my home, and thank you for coming." He added sheepishly.

"Point me something bruddah." Liho said, already going to the sink to wash his hands. "Hey babe, bathroom over that way if you need it, living room right over there."

"I would like to assist as well." Pacifica said, looking lovely in her long, simple dress and teal neckerchief. "Were you preparing this meal alone Mustang?"

Deke nodded. "Yeah, Babs is running interference on Ash so I could finish all the clandestine stuff. They're volunteering in Gotham right now." He said, and watched her set the two bags they'd brought on the kitchen table. "I need potatoes peeled and put in water, and there's a cake mix in the cabinet." He added, one of the doors flying open at his telekinetic grasp.

"I believe I can follow the instructions on a cake mix." Pacifica said, going towards that task. If she could perform high ritual sorcery, baking a cake according to the package should pose no difficulty.

Liho grabbed the vegetable peeler from the drawer, the large bag of potatoes, and set about his own task. "Feel good getting my hands dirty. I kinda think the house cook get mad when I try feed myself sometimes."

"You ever think they're worried you're gonna put them out of a job bro?" Deke asked, heading back to the large pot of homemade egg noodles to give them a stir. He wasn't satisfied with how little of the broth they were soaking up, but given it was almost seventy degrees outside, with a typical Thanksgiving rain for the area, there wasn't much he could do.

"Oh, yeah, that might be it." Liho replied sheepishly, watching his wife set about making a cake. He'd never say it, but this was the first time he'd seen her prepare any kind of food at all, and he wasn't entirely sure she was even familiar with the process at all. "We got tunes?"

"Yeah." Deke said, making a couple of gestures. Within a few seconds, the sounds of classic rock and roll began filling the place from the cheap surround sound in his living room. He fiddled with the volume for a minute, at first cranking it too loud, until he got it within conversational level. "There's an electric mixer on the metal stand by the laundry room Pacifica, you don't need a whisk."

"I prefer it, it reminds me of preparing components for high magic." She said with a smile, enjoying the tactile sensation of changing a substance. "Am I to follow these instructions exactly?"

"No, there's a bag of chocolate chips next to where the cake mix was, those are going into it, and there's a bottle of chocolate liqueur that's getting drizzled on it once it's cooled a little bit, before we ice it." Deke replied.

"I brought my sweet potato casserole and some spam stuffing." Liho added, still efficiently peeling potatoes. "We got them in warming bags and stuff so they stay toasty."

"Hells yes." Deke said with a grin.

"I just heard your Zeta recognize Ingrid bro. We got another hand." Liho said with a grin.

* * *

"That was absolutely necessary." Aasha said, once she and Babs had stepped off the Zeta in the garage. "I'm glad you suggested we do this. Maybe next year we can get more people involved. I know the Flash helps in Central City, and Captain Marvel does in Fawcett."

"Could you imagine Batman trying it?" Barbara asked, putting a fake scowl on her face. "Here's your food, happy thanksgiving." She said in a decent imitation of his deadpan tone.

"Oh that's dreadful." Aasha giggled. "Are you sure Bette had somewhere to go tonight though?"

Barbara nodded as they walked up the stone paver path to the backdoor. "Yeah, her Dad moved to Metropolis after the divorce. Her mom has been staying there too, which has made that whole situation weird, but she can keep the peace between them really well. It doesn't hurt that her stepmom is really easygoing."

"Oh that's wonderful. Goodness, can you smell all of that food?" Aasha asked once a good whiff passed by her nose from the still open backdoor. "I think someone's been busy as a bee."

"I know it." Barbara said conspiratorially. She'd helped set everything up two weeks ago and knew he had enough help with Liho, who'd volunteered to arrive much earlier to make sure things got done in time.

The two girls stepped into the kitchen, and Aasha immediately froze, as she saw every one of the Movers, plus Drew, Deke's adoptive parents, and Barbara's dad, all around a much larger table than the one she'd left the house with earlier in the day. "If this is an intervention, can we please eat before it?" she asked, perfectly overwhelmed at the sight of everyone.

"Happy Birthday Aasha!" Drew squealed, rushing straight towards her, the speed at which he did so was noticed by several of the team, especially Maddie. It looked like he wasn't as shy as she or Braeden were at his age.

"Oh goodness, thank you!" Aasha said, kissing the little fellow on the cheek. "You know I don't do much on my birthdays because it falls on Thanksgiving." She said to everyone else.

" _You_ didn't do anything, it was all us chick." Maddie said, kneeling down and beckoning to her son to let Aasha go and come back to her. "So, I brought a few bottles of wine if we want to get into that before they get the bird cut."

"I could stand a glass." Aasha said, and strolled over to her family and their families. She could tell Barbara's dad was a bit standoffish with everyone there, clearly seeming a bit uncomfortable in the crowd of people, though Barbara was standing there with him for support. She'd seen pictures of Deke's adoptive parents, but hadn't gotten the chance to properly meet them before today. They certainly seemed friendly enough though.

"Mijo, I think people are hungry." Hector said, tapping his adopted son on the shoulder. "Might want to see to that before the riot starts."

"Si papi." Deke replied, taking the time to manually open the bottle of Shiraz before passing it to Maddie to pour. He then turned to the oven and withdrew the bird with a long exhale. "So, I actually have no idea how to do this and I'm not so proud I've gotta carve the bird in my own house. This ain't the fifties."

"Please, allow me." Ingrid said, and of course she'd know a thing or two about carving an animal with a sharp knife. With an inviting gesture, Deke stepped out of her way, and let her have her way. While she worked, he nudged his extra parents, and led them towards Jim and Barbara.

"Sorry it took so long to get you all in the same room." He said with a sheepish grin. "Mami, Papi, this is Jim. Jim, this is Maria and Hector."

"Pleased to meet you." Jim said pleasantly. "I suppose we're accepting responsibility for each other's kids soon, so have fun with mine, she's a handful."

"I disagree. You've raised a lovely, beautiful, and respectful young lady." Hector said, which brought a blush to Barbara's face. "Hopefully ours is similarly well mannered when we're not around."

"Well, as much as I can say when he's living with my only daughter." Jim said, partially in jest but not entirely. Watching his little girl grow up and peel away had been hellish on him, despite seeing her pretty regularly. "Now, I don't know if they told you, but I had a stipulation on them getting married. I'm too young yet for grandchildren."

"You and we both." Maria said sincerely. "I'm not ready to be abuela yet either. Hector's got some gray in his hair but I've managed to avoid it." She added with an elbow to his arm. He grinned at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight.

"I earned them honest. I brought a six pack, would you care for one?" He said, giving a nod to Jim. "Casique, best beer in Cuba. There's a store not far from our house that can order it."

"Never had it, but I'm willing to try it." Jim replied, having no palette for wine and having already reserved himself to drinking orange soda with the little fellow that was currently playing in the corner with Aasha and the tall blonde. Maybe, just maybe, having another little one to play with wouldn't be such a horrible thing. 

* * *

After a very satisfying dinner, Deke's parents cleared out, and Babs had seen her dad off at the Zeta, something he apparently wasn't the biggest fan of. Drew was napped out on the couch, and Aasha wasn't much longer for the world either, with her stomach so full and with the sheer amount of alcohol in her birthday cake. It seemed to be the best time for Maddie to speak up. "So, I've got something to say," she said to her team, who were all still at the large table in the kitchen.

"The estate lawyers came through finally. I'm going to be moving out of the Hacienda and buying a place in Destin. I want to be a bigger part of Drew's life, I owe him at least that much." She explained, when the Movers had all given her their attention. "So, I'm permanently on reserve status with the League. I don't guess anyone missed how quick he tackled Ash either?"

"I think we all saw it. He nearly bowled her over too. You think he's developing?" Ingrid asked, hazarding a glance at the sweet little gentleman that was curled up on the couch.

"Yeah, it was around the same age I started, and Braeden too I guess. It's kind of telling about us that we never discussed it with the other. I suppose that's Gram's influence, so scared to be anything but normal. I need to be around him right now." Maddie said determinedly.

"There's always a place for you with us." Kris replied with certainty. "Do you have a plan for what you'll be doing?"

Maddie nodded. "Yeah, aside of the pole, the only other marketable skill I have is in wedding planning, so if I could use the Mustang and Batgirl ceremony in the portfolio, I'd appreciate it."

"We'll have to get creative but I don't mind at all Mads." Barbara said, sipping at her pinot noir. Say what you will, but it was clear Maddie had excellent taste where wine was concerned. "I'm sure Deke agrees."

"Oh yeah," Deke said with a nod. "Go for it."

"Awesome, thanks you two. Uhm, if everyone doesn't mind, I'm going to step outside and hope _someone_ follows me out there." She said, pointedly glancing at Will, who'd remained respectfully quiet throughout her short speech. He rose from his seat and walked out with her, the warmth of the earlier afternoon giving way to a crisp evening, which drove them into the barn-turned-garage.

"I need time Will." Maddie said plainly, refusing to beat around the bush. "Not like, go the fuck away kind of time, but I have to settle in and make sure I'm giving Drew a good, safe life. So, if I'm distant, or don't really engage much with you for a couple of months, I'll understand if that's a deal breaker for you."

"No Mads, that's cool. You have to handle your house. Nobody is going to fault you for that." Will countered as he took a lean against the tool bench.

"Cool, just, don't wait on me, okay? I like what we've got, but it's not fair to ask you to sit on your hands for however long this is going to take, okay? I know we have fun, but seriously, if you let something cute walk past because you're waiting on me, I'm going to be pissed." She countered, pulling up a camping chair to sit in.

"No, I get it. I'll be honest though Mads, right now I'm so busy with the League and trying to figure myself out too, I doubt I'd notice anyway. I'm thinking about becoming a certified therapist and take some heat off Black Canary. Might as well use my degree for something; make an honest living for once." Will replied thoughtfully.

"I can live with that." Maddie said with a soft look on her beautiful features. "Hey, one other thing. You took Drew in stride, like, completely, and I appreciate that. Thank you."

"I met a girl maybe a week before Green Arrow finally caught me. I didn't plan on it being serious, but if I had, it wouldn't have been when she referred to her kid as baggage. Something about that just sat wrong with me, and this was when I was happy to steal from people for thrills. I'm not going to lie, I was surprised, and a little hurt when you didn't tell me up front, but I get it." Will said, patient as a saint.

"You're making it really hard for me to run you off, you know it?" Maddie asked, coming up out of the camping chair and walking over to him. She grabbed his tie and pulled him down closer, before placing a long, slow, deep kiss on him. Happily letting her, Will pulled her body tight against his.

"Kind of the plan Mads. You said it a couple months ago, you don't want to play games anymore, and neither do I. If you need me for anything, or want me for anything, just call, alright?" Will said once she let him go.

"Yeah. Right now though, I have a little man to put to bed. We flew in the old fashioned way, since I'm not ready to explain things to him. Mustang's giving us the guest room, and he needs a bed instead of a couch. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Maddie said, before placing a few kisses along his jaw and nuzzling into his neck.

"Yeah, that sounds cool. I'm going to go ahead and get back to the Hacienda since I'm here. Tell Ingrid she doesn't have to worry about waking me up or anything, I've got some work to do so I'll be up a while." Will said, stepping towards the hidden Zeta.

Maddie watched him get recognized, but she waited before going back inside. She took a deep breath to steady herself and refrained from squeezing one of the pillars that led into the loft and kept the whole structure from falling over.


	6. Chapter 6 Giving Thanks

November 23rd  
Greenup Kentucky  
2215 EST  
Six months after the quake

"That was positively delightful." Aasha said from her spot on the couch, not entirely certain how she was still awake. "Thank you for making that wonderfully boozy cake too, love." She added, patting Deke on the knee.

"No biggie hon, just thought you'd enjoy all the chocolate." He said, stroking her hair softly, his hand joined by Barbara's in short order, threatening to usher the tiny sorceress to heaven in the most lovely way. "Happy birthday again, by the way."

"Yes, happy birthday." Barbara replied, leaning over and kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. "Is there anything else you'd like before it gets too late?"

"Oh goodness no, I'm perfectly happy right now. With our guests and the amount of food I ate, I think I'll call the usual present due tomorrow or the day after." Aasha said, her stomach pushed out so far from dinner that she'd taken a couple of mirror pics in the bathroom to see what she'd look like in the early stages of pregnancy. Funny, but that's as far as it needed to go with her.

"That's not a bad idea." Barbara said, feeling similarly stuffed to the gills. She'd eaten clean from the first of August to have her Thanksgiving, and she'd taken full advantage of the entire spread. "So, Drew's an adorable little guy." She said after another minute of petting Aasha.

"He is. Such a doll, that one." Aasha replied sleepily.

"Thanks you two, I was nervous bringing him." Maddie said, coming down the stairs in leggings and a long shirt. "You made his night by the way, Deke. When you said you didn't have a kids table and he'd have to sit with the adults he was ecstatic."

"I hated the kid's table when I was his age." Deke said with a wry look. "You get enough to eat?"

"Oh yeah, we both did. Did you notice Liho didn't get all nervous at Ash's plate?" Maddie asked. "I didn't point it out in case he'd just forgotten."

"If that's the case, then I doubly thank you for not pointing it out." Aasha said, giving up the notion of trying to sit up, and finally just lounging on her lovers like a housecat. "Why were you nervous bringing Drew by the way?"

"Will, for one. I hadn't told him before today. Pacifica was the other reason, I didn't want him bugging her to death. Can I ask you three something though?" Maddie asked, sitting on the long end of the sectional, since her hosts were all piled into the corner.

"Go for it." Barbara said with a barely stifled yawn.

"Did I do the right thing, backing off when I just got inducted into the League? I feel like there's going to be people disappointed in me for this, and I kinda hate that I'm worried about that." Maddie asked, still a hodgepodge of emotions.

"Batman has a son, which you just recently discovered. Wonder Woman wouldn't question you fulfilling your duties to family either. Superman, well, he's so homegrown Americana that he'd probably bring you an apple pie as a housewarming gift. You snicker over there Mister, but he's done it." Barbara explained, poking her boy for the amused face he was making.

"That covers the big three. You think Captain Atom's going to think I made him look like an asshole though?" Maddie asked, starting to feel relieved, but not exactly where she wanted to be yet.

"I doubt it, and if he does, he'd be facing some stiff arguments, so it doesn't matter. He didn't even call the vote to have the Movers brought officially into the League anyway. That was Captain Marvel's idea." Barbara said expansively.

"Yeah, he told us, but still. This used to be so much easier." Maddie complained softly, feeling slightly jealous at Aasha nestled in between the two of them. "When'd I start giving a shit?"

"February, if that wasn't a rhetorical question." Deke said, giving Maddie a long look. "When you called me to give you a hand with Dickweed, you'd never asked for help before. Not like that. Ever since then, you've been shifting in attitude, and it's been good for you."

"Well, it _was_ a rhetorical question but okay, I'll take it. Thanks for letting us stay, by the way. We've got to get to the airport by three o'clock to make the flight back to the Hamptons, so I can help with breakfast if you want. I don't like freeloading." Maddie said with a yawn of her own.

"He's got the next three days off of cooking duty, so it'll be you and me." Barbara said sweetly, patting her boy on the leg. "And I'd love the help. I was going to use leftovers to make omelets, just a heads up on the menu."

"Hey, it's cool with me. Speaking of cool though, Ash, are you still awake?" Maddie replied, leaning over to see if the girl's eyes were still open.

"I am, for the time being." Aasha said sleepily.

"I got an email back from my donor. Do you think you could sit Drew for a couple of days while I go to Roswell? He adores you, and there aren't many better hands he could be in." Maddie said, her tone one of genuine honesty instead of solicitation. "I'm sorry about being so needy right now, I promise you I hate it more than you do. I just, I'm not sure about this guy's intentions so I want to minimize contact till I can figure him out."

"I don't hate it at all Mads, I'd love to keep him for a couple of days." Aasha said sweetly, though through the yawn, her words weren't necessarily perfectly clear.

"Awesome, thanks chick. I'm gonna crash, do I need earplugs and a prepared explanation for Drew?" Maddie asked, getting up from the couch and stretching.

"Naw, you're good tonight, we're all too full." Deke drawled. "Sleep good." He offered as she strolled up the stairs with a wave.

Once Maddie had cleared the landing, Barbara nudged her boy, who reached behind the couch and produced a long but thin box with a shipping label applied to it. "So, we had one more present to give you, but this had to wait a bit." Barbara explained, setting the box on Aasha's stomach.

"But you got me those wonderful markers, you don't need to get me anything else!" Aasha protested, sitting herself back up. "And it's not like any of us are made of money."

"Worth it hon." Deke said, digging into his pocket and offering Aasha his small folding knife so she could cut the packing tape. She accepted it from him, opened the smaller blade, and carefully cut into the box.

When she opened it, she paused, her eyes lighting up brightly as it became clear _why_ they'd had to wait to give her this gift. "Well, you both call me a housecat." She said, pulling a cat ear headband out of the box and placing it on her head immediately. "Oh goodness, there's a bell collar too?" she said excitedly, gently shaking the collar to make the bell jingle.

"And there's one more thing in there too," Barbara said, falling in love with the absolutely delighted expression on her girlfriend's face. That look grew even more excited when she withdrew the final piece, a black cat tail attached to a shiny chrome piece that left no doubt as to how it was meant to be worn.

"Oh now this is too much, I can't believe the both of you." Aasha said gleefully. "I'd ask how you knew I wanted these things, but I know the answer already." She added, poking Deke in the shoulder.

"Wasn't me." He said with a smirk, and glanced at Barbara, who had the most smug, self-satisfied look on her face.

"You left your laptop open when you were going through your wishlist. I noticed them when I closed the lid." She said, poking Aasha back for her boy and showing her the tip of her tongue. "When I saw them, I knew we had to make it happen."

"It's your fault you know, you kept calling me a housecat, so of course I got ideas." Aasha replied, fighting the urge to try the rest of it on. The bell collar wouldn't be such a big deal, but the tail required more effort than she had energy. "So we'll try these out in a day or two, shall we?"

"I was hoping you'd say that." Barbara said, as wickedly as possible given her own level of sleepy. "Now how about we pack this up and hit the hay?"

* * *

Aasha rose later that night, carefully slipping out from between her lovers. She smiled softly as they instinctively curled up into each other, and once she was content they weren't waking up, she slipped her long nightshirt on and lifted herself a few inches into the air, to sail through the house silently.

Once in the kitchen, so recently full of warmth and laughter, she carefully opened the back door and slipped outside. The bitter chill of a Kentucky autumn, so different from the early warmth of the day, struck her. While she wasn't threatened by the natural environment, she could still feel the cold, and right now, she needed it.

She cast a glance up at the crescent moon in the sky, a thumbnail sliver against the black sky, and took in a deep breath, before mentally sinking into herself. She soared silently up the hill the house was built at the base of, and looked at the blighted peak, ruined years ago by experimentation and technology. Setting down softly, she dug her bare toes into the fallow dirt and reached out with her magic.

The myriad layers of creation laid open before her, and she brushed up against the Green, that mystical force of life and growth, and began the process of guiding it according to her will, steering that primal desire into the blighted land. Below her, at the level where the plant life just stopped, the grass and trees began stirring from their autumn slumber, reaching and twisting out, pushing into the earth.

Much like Fractal's nanoswarm, the process began slow, but as more of the land awoke to heed her call, it began growing exponentially, moving faster and faster as grass, moss, and trees began scrambling up the hill to cover the dead hilltop. Aasha took to the skies after several minutes, before the Green overtook her, but once up there, she got herself an idea.

At the dead center of the blast zone, she encouraged one tree to grow. One acorn took root, and spurred by magical energy, began sprouting. This tree, she gently steered, encouraging the bole to grow low but fat, with several branches coming off wide and thick. It would make a perfect treehouse, and despite the fact they were fully grown adults, it was something she'd always wanted as a little girl, and knew both Babs and Deke thought similar. It might have been her birthday, but Aasha would be damned if she didn't do something nice to return the favor.

When her work was done, she felt like a proper little druidess, with so much life and green where there wasn't before. Certainly, the rest of autumn and then winter would mean the full effect of her work wouldn't be perfectly visible, but that didn't matter. These plants would survive.

Slipping back inside, she went into the small downstairs bathroom and turned the water on to fill the tub. While she waited, she went into the kitchen to make herself a small snack, and found herself face to face with Barbara, who was sitting at the kitchen table with a smirk.

"Nice trick, flying instead of walking." She said, absently popping a cranberry into her mouth, savoring the tart flavor. "Everything okay?"

"Oh yes of course." Aasha said, pulling out the container of turkey and pulling a small slice out, and then pairing it with a piece of cheese. "Did I wake you?"

"Yes and no. When I realized I was cuddling Deke instead of you, I woke up. When you were gone longer than a bathroom break I got a little worried. I thought maybe we went over the line with that last present or something." Barbara replied, watching Ash nibble on her snack.

"Oh love, not at all. I was just doing something I'd been meaning to get around to for a while now. I've got the tub running though, would you mind coming with me?" Aasha said, gesturing that direction. With a nod, Barbara got up and walked with her into the bathroom, and leaned against the wall as Aasha undressed, winking when Ash looked back at her.

"Bloody cold." Aasha murmured, stirring a toe in the water until it warmed up to her satisfaction. She slipped in, and smiled at Barbara, who'd put the lid on the toilet down and taken a seat.

"You're getting more powerful." Barbara said, just making the statement plain and simple. "I was watching out the window."

"You weren't supposed to see that. I wanted it to be a surprise." Aasha said sheepishly, shaking her hair bashfully over her face to retreat behind.

"That's sweet of you, and I love you for it, but I'm worried about you too. You almost burned yourself out six months ago, and I don't want you to actually wind up going all the way with it. You had all of us scared to death." Barbara said, gently brushing the girl's hair out of her face. Those dark chocolate eyes of hers were too pretty to hide.

"This wasn't as hard as you probably think it was. Life wants to happen, all I did was kind of steer it towards someplace less hospitable and encourage it. That hilltop was well within my safe range. I don't want to burn out either." Aasha said, taking Barbara's hand and kissing her palm. "I love you too, by the way."

"As long as you're okay then." Barbara said with a blush. "I'm going back to Gotham tomorrow night; by the way, do you want to come with me?"

"I think so, yes. They're raising the island and I wouldn't mind being handy to help. Are you sure the people there are fully aware of what's going to happen? It'll be a lot more shaking after all." Aasha said, bringing her feet up to give them a good scrub.

"Oh yeah, the Deputy Mayor talked Wayne Enterprises and a few other places into making it an event, that's why I'm going. There's bound to be people preparing to cause trouble. Dad's already got uniforms ready, and he said they deputized about a hundred people for it too. This won't have a hitch if I have anything to say about it." Barbara said with a yawn. It was time to get back to bed for her.


	7. Chapter 7 Healing and Building

December 9th  
Greenup Kentucky  
0945 EST  
Seven months after the quake

"Kris, are you doing okay?" Aasha asked, poking her head into the spare bedroom. She'd appointed herself his unofficial nurse while he recovered from his reassignment surgery, which largely consisted of checking on him and being told he was perfectly fine.

"I'm perfectly fine Aasha, but thank you." Kris replied, not bothering to dismiss the holographics that were filling the room. "You don't have to keep interrupting your day to see to me, I promise."

"But I'm worried about your health." She argued, slipping fully into the room. "With Babs and Deke in Gotham, I want to be certain you're doing well. I can at least be sure you're keeping occupied. What is all this?" she asked, leaning her head around to look at one of the holographs. It appeared to be a wireframe mesh of _something_ , what it was, she wasn't exactly clear on.

"A pet project of mine. Believe it or not, it came to me when they were giving me anesthesia. I feel kind of foolish it took that to spark the idea." Kris said, absently gesturing to rearrange the myriad images into something that made more sense.

"Oh wow, when I had my boob job, I don't even remember being given anything. Just getting wheeled towards a room, and then waking up with the girls hurting." Aasha said, pulling up a chair. "So, what _is_ this exactly?"

"Well, right now it's a series of designs, but once I can get it all fit together, it'll be a suit of armor. I found I kept making slapdash sets when I felt it necessary, but it seems like that necessity is becoming more and more common. Currently, I'm trying to determine how to power it and keep the sleek design I want." Kris said, reaching over and taking a sip of water.

"So, vanity then. What's your plan if it all goes your way?" Aasha asked while flipping through her tablet to see what the Gallery had on its acquisition list once the full reopening occurred. Ambitious, but doable, was her opinion on it.

"This." Kris said, pulling one of the holographs to the forefront and giving his computer a mental command to expand it. What stood there was a smooth silver suit of powered armor, though the hands and feet were slightly disproportionate to the rest of the body, and the shoulders were much broader than would be expected from the rest of the frame. The helmet had a straight visor instead of eyes, and lacked a nose or mouth, instead having a short protrusion that resembled a dust mask.

"Intimidating to say the least. A bit drab though, don't you think?" Aasha said thoughtfully.

"Oh, let me run the animation." Kris replied devilishly, and mentally commanded it to play. Just like his previous costume, the same randomized color shifting began working over the body. "I wouldn't want to be drab."

"Oh good. I loved the color shifting on your previous costume, I'm glad you kept it." Aasha said, taking a minute to get a good look at her 'patient'. He'd let his hair grow out some, just enough to get it trimmed to a more even length, and had gone with a spiker look instead of the smooth combed part he'd kept for years. A faint trace of stubble also decorated his cheeks. He'd been so particular about remaining clean shaven for so long, Aasha had almost forgot it was possible for him to grow facial hair at all.

"I always considered it my trademark. I couldn't not do it. Fortunately, that particular feature consumes almost no power, unlike the signal booster I've built in." Kris complained, racking his brain for the solution. "The Atom gave me some schematics to play with, but nothing produced the right level of output, and without access to more advanced materials, I'm stuck."

"What kind of materials?" Aasha asked, hoping he didn't get deeper into the tech talk. She was having no trouble following him at the moment, but that could change in a heartbeat.

"Superconductive materials, like Dwarf Star alloy, or rare earth metals like iridium, plus several more esoteric things. Aasha, feel fortunate that you're self-sustaining." Kris said while glaring daggers into the holographic screen.

"Deke says I'm a feedback loop. Is that what you're trying to do here?" Aasha asked, glancing around the room to make sure she didn't have any other chores in there that needed tending to.

"Yes and no. A feedback loop is optimal, since it's capable of recharging at rest, and only discharging while in use. To meet my requirements here though, I run the risk of a very unpleasant explosion. I need to catch lightning in a bottle in order to ensure that doesn't happen." He said, gingerly readjusting himself into a more comfortable position.

"Oh, that's no big deal. I know a spell for that." Aasha said in a chipper tone, finally feeling helpful. She grabbed a glass off the nightstand, flash evaporated the remaining water within it, and then whispered over the brim before discharging a small shock into the cup, where it simply sat there, arcing and swirling like a tiny storm.

What was a child's parlor trick for Aasha, was a dramatic and profound thing for Kris, who simply sat there in surprise, not sure what to do about it. "That's amazing. How long will that last?" he asked, baffled by the ability of a magician to scoff in the face of possibility.

"Not sure, I've only done it a couple of times, and I dispelled the effect when I was finished with it. It's reflecting off the glass so potentially forever if left undisturbed. I can attest two and a half hours for certain though." Aasha said, pointedly _not_ mentioning how she knew that.

"Does it require glass?" He asked next, his mind already firing off in a thousand directions.

"Not sure, finish your water and we'll find out." She said, pointing to his nearly empty water bottle. "I am curious though, why don't you use the same source that powers Cyborg?"

Kris paused, not sure how to explain that to her without going over her head or sounding condescending. "There's not much real person left in him. He can use a much bigger source. Also, Doctor Stone is a brilliant xenotechnologist. He used components left over from Darkseid's invasion."

"Oh dear," Aasha said, drawing the last bit of water out of the bottle and repeating her trick. The moment she discharged electricity into it though, the bottle suddenly blackened and began smoking, forcing her to immediately dispel her work before it melted all over her lap.

"Bloody hell!" she shrieked, tossing the extremely hot and extremely limp bottle into the small trash can. "I guess that answers that."

Kris nodded, leaning over further to give her a better look. He couldn't do much in his current condition, but having had his penis for all of three days had already taught him he hated feeling limp-dicked in a situation. "You're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Aasha replied sheepishly, the tip of her tongue coming out of her mouth in thought. "Glass is too fragile for what you want. Diamonds are too. What about ceramic? They use that in electrical things don't they?"

"They do, as a matter of fact. I appreciate your assistance, but if you have better things to do, then please, do them instead." Kris said, one of his screens already running some calculations. "You're not the only one that hates being a bother."

"Oh, it's no bother Kris. I have quite literally nothing I _need_ to do. Breakfast dishes are finished, the kitchen is cleaned, and Babs made the bed before they left for Gotham." Aasha said, running through the list of chores in her head to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

"Speaking of her, I don't mean to pry, but were you two arguing this morning?" Kris asked, not sure if he'd dreamt it or if it had actually happened. It had woken him up, but with his door shut, and the very sturdy construction of the home, sound hadn't traveled that well.

"Yes, that was us." Aasha said with a peculiar smile. "I get bratty with her now and again. I doubt you want to hear this, but I'm hoping she'll get frustrated enough to properly spank me for it."

That gave Kris a moment's pause. "You, you want her to _spank_ you?" he asked, learning more about her in that statement than he had over the past four years.

"Goodness yes. It's really the only complaint I have about my living arrangement actually. They're both too afraid to swat me a good one. I get it, and I respect it, but bugger all if I'm not going to keep trying." She said mischievously. "I'm convinced it's just not within Deke to do it at all. I thought he was going to have a breakdown when I convinced him to choke me."

"Ash, the things I'm leaning about you." Kris said with a shake of his head. "Is _this_ what sexually active people do all day?"

"I mean, probably. I know it's what _we_ do. I get bratty with Babs, and I play the damsel with Deke. Sometimes I piss her off just to go running off crying to him." Aasha said, wondering if this was how Maddie felt when she started off on one of her stories.

"That seems a bit manipulative, don't you think?" Kris asked. Perfectly asexual but also intelligent, he understood the hows of things, though fathoming the whys was a whole other beast that he never really devoted time to wrangling.

"I suppose, if it were something important or legitimate. I picked a fight with her about her shirt. I told her it was navy and she argued that it was black, we just got loud about it. It's play, Kris, nothing more. It's sweet of you to worry though." Aasha said, reaching for a brush before his bedhead got too unruly and he went from spiky to bald from the tangles.

"For the next week or two, worrying is about all I'm good for. Well, that, and a surprise, if you're willing to keep the secret." He said with a wink. He'd not been idle, and if he was being honest, learning about Aasha's sex life was edging towards uncomfortable.

"Of course, let's hear it." Aasha said, gently brushing Kris' hair for him, something she was quite certain nobody had done for him since he was little.

"So, I brought a briefcase full of my advanced nanites. When I got here, I wrote a script and sent them off. For the past three days, they've been spreading and multiplying, using the available resources in the ground to do so. Once there's enough, they'll return, bore a hole deep enough for my purposes, and allow me to set the house up for geothermal power as well as heating and cooling. They've already finished constructing the water reclamation system we use at the Hacienda, and it's tied into the water lines. Once the power is set up, that will feed into a perpetual water heater. Eliminating all of the bills here is the least I can do, especially since it costs me effectively nothing to do it."

"That's so thoughtful of you." Aasha said, still running the brush through his hair. "I think he'd be delighted when he finds out. I know having more hot water will be a big plus for all of us."

"I agree," Kris said with a yawn. "I'm working with several civil engineers in Gotham, and those water reclamation systems are going in under every city block, once we can secure the funding. I can't just nanocraft them unfortunately."

"Are you getting sleepy again?" Aasha asked, setting the brush aside and just using her fingers to stroke his hair.

"Yeah, and I think I need a pill too. Thank you Aasha, this means a lot to me." Kris said, popping one of his painkillers since the ache in his brand new junk was getting too much to ignore. "Hopefully I'll be through with these tomorrow or the next day."

"That's a good goal but don't let yourself suffer. Enjoy your nap." She said, placing a chaste kiss on his forehead. "Lunch will be ready about the time you wake up. Shall I bring it up to you?"

"No, the doctors told me I shouldn't just lay about. I'll try and come down the stairs, but I promise to call for help if I need it." Kris said, fighting the blush in his cheeks down. He had some of the best people on Earth for family.

* * *

After a punishing yoga routine that Barbara had the nerve to describe as light, Aasha caught herself a quick shower and pulled up some couch to watch some television. As she flipped through the channels, she paused at the news, her heart already jumping into her throat.

"This is Cat Grant with GBS, here on the scene in Gotham City, where only minutes ago three members of what we're told are the Sinestro corps, have shown up to what can only be described as undoing the rebuilding and cleanup work." She said, showing nerves of steel in announcing the news while in the middle of the maelstrom of yellow energy.

"Wait, it looks like members of the Justice League are joining the Bat Family in handling this menace. Phil, are you getting this?" She said, already off screen as her cameraman panned up to show the situation.

The Batwing was in the air, maneuvering through the steel and concrete canyons of Gotham, while Batman swung near it on a line. Three yellow ring wielding villains were in the process of trying to handle them, when one seemed to just go into massive jitters before being slammed into one of the remaining abandoned buildings.

Aasha smiled, knowing who was piloting the Batwing, and who had shaken and slammed the Sinestro corps member. When two of the Green Lanterns arrived, their rings adding verdant energy to the mass of yellow, she knew she was in for a wonderful show. A huge part of her wanted to grab her bolero jacket, toss it on, and take the Zeta into Gotham to join the fight, but she had no desire to leave Kris alone while he healed. Some time in the field would have to wait a while.


	8. Chapter 8 Healing and Building

December 13th  
Greenup Kentucky  
1315 EST  
Seven months after the quake

If only the neighbors could see what happened within the four walls of the O'Connelly home, especially right at that moment. In one bedroom, a young woman was practicing some of the more delicate aspects of sorcery. In the living room, the homeowner was floating a few feet off the air in meditation, hoping to divine the secrets of xenobiology. In the kitchen, a woman with no supernatural powers, but with remarkable skill, worked a knife over a daikon radish like a master of the blade, all while balancing on one toe. It left another man, only recently equipped for the visual description of being one, working in the garage on building a highly advanced suit of power armor.

It was Barbara, because of course it was, that noticed it, setting her knife aside and digging out the nappa cabbage to begin preparing for the homemade ramen dish she was working on. "Wow, this house right now." She said, using only the muscles in her leg and bottom to turn herself on that one toe she was balanced on. The strangeness of it struck her oddly, causing her to pause her ballet long enough to take a lean on the counter to giggle her way through the thought.

"Weird, huh?" she heard from the living room. Giving a glance, she saw her boy put his feet under him, and stroll casually into the kitchen with her. He paused long enough to place a kiss on her, before digging into the fridge for a bottle of juice.

"It really is Cowboy. I thought the Batcave could get strange too." She said, shaking her head. "No snacking, you'll spoil your appetite." She added, seeing him eyeballing the junk food cupboard. It was a concession she'd made, since he could eat however he pleased (and damn him for that), but she wasn't going to just let him slide. That's not how Barbara Gordon operated.

"Okay, okay. You want a hand in here?" He asked, seeing the spread of food. In truth, it was the smell of the roast pork in the oven that had snapped him from his meditation more than anything else. Picking up on her observation had been secondary.

Barbara shook her head and went back to her cabbage. "No thank you, I've got this." She said, picking up her knife again and setting about her task. "Besides, you've got homework mister."

"Please don't remind me. I'm getting so close to graduating, and it seems further and further away." He said, pulling up a chair so he could at least enjoy the view of his fiancé in yoga pants, and that view was positively spectacular. "Five year medical degree, I swear another word for it is masochism."

"I'm taking the same weighted course load. I just had the benefit of taking college classes in high school." Barbara retorted, giving him a glance over her shoulder, which let her catch him eyeballing her behind. "See something you like back there?"

"Yes I do." He said, and telekinetically pinched her bottom, causing her to bounce and giggle at him. "So much to do though, I think I'm just window shopping for the next while."

"Don't say that. I was looking to break the dry spell tonight." She admonished him, referring to the distinct lack of intimacy they'd had for the past two weeks. Catching up on a massive amount of homework, as well as their life under the mask, had prevented them from so much as talking dirty to one another. Even Aasha was beginning to feel the sting of it, something she'd shown no hesitation to complain about.

"I mean, sure. You know I hate it when you muzzle yourself though." He said, referring to her rather _vocal_ behavior in the bedroom. "But I can't see you suffer either."

"It's not suffering. Not yet anyway. I have to ask though, does it really get you off that much, the racket I tend to kick up?" Barbara asked, feeling inquisitive again. "I honestly always worry it's annoying."

"Oh God no babe. It might be my favorite thing about sleeping with you. Sure, there's plenty of other awesome stuff, but still." He said with a naughty grin and a shiver of his shoulders. "Talk about encouraging."

Barbara colored nicely at his words, and covered it by filling a small saucepot with water so she could boil eggs. "Okay then, I can handle that. Oh, speaking of relationship matters, Bruce said that since the Movers are all League now, he's coming to the wedding."

She'd never outright say how much his absence would have bothered her, but the way she beamed at the revelation of that bit of news told it well enough. It brought a warmth to Deke's heart to see and feel it. "That's awesome babe. Have you narrowed down where you want to have it?"

She frowned at him for that one. Venue had been a constant source of annoyance for her, as he'd been entirely too flexible, making her decision making process much more difficult since she couldn't rule anything out. "Ollie suggested Aspen. Diana, though she might have been making a joke, suggested Themyscira. Liho and Pacifica seem hell bent for leather to have us at least honeymoon in Hawaii. Clark suggested Metropolis, but if we're doing that, it's going to be Gotham. Cowboy, can you at least shoot down something? I don't care if you dismiss it out of hand, I don't even need an explanation at this point."

"Okay, I'm shooting down Metropolis." Deke said, which seemed to be the wrong answer, as her frown deepened and was aimed straight at him. "What?"

"I shot down Metropolis. You're just agreeing with me. That doesn't count."

"Ingrid said Vancouver, but since like, every show we watch on TV is filmed there, I don't think it'll have the same magic. So, how about I shoot that down then?" He offered, hoping that might calm her down. Apparently, it did, as her expression softened.

"There we go, I can ignore Vancouver, that works." Barbara said, cutting some carrots down to matchsticks as she spoke. "Besides, the last thing we need is to have Supernatural filming next to the venue. I wouldn't have a bridesmaid one, they'd be busy mobbing the actors."

"Hell, I'd be mobbing the actors." Deke said with a snicker. "No, seriously though, I agree with you. Maddie keeps saying the Hamptons has a bunch of really nice venues though, and she knows people there."

"Yeah, that's on my maybe list. I just hate that we've only got about a year left and we're just now doing this. I knew I was procrastinating too hard on the planning." Barbara said regretfully. She'd absolutely done it to herself and she knew it. "There _is_ good news though."

"Yeah?" Deke asked curiously. He'd felt something tempering her annoyance and concern since she'd brought it up, but he wasn't sure what it was. Despite their almost four year relationship, her sheer level of self-discipline made her tricky to get a good read on. "What's that?"

"Well, remember how Oliver invested most of our money for us?" she asked, glancing back over her shoulder. When he nodded, she continued. "Because most of it is tied up for the next few years, Bruce said he'd pay for the wedding."

Her words came out shy, showing the little girl she used to be, and it was perfectly endearing to Deke, who smiled at her, trying to contain his relief. "Your dad's okay with this?"

"Dad's paying every cent of the civil ceremony, including Mami and Papi's travel, and Bruce talked to him anyway. Once a year, they meet for coffee, something they've been doing for almost as long as there's been a Batman. I don't know what diner it is, but they open an hour early once a year, where the two of them sit down and talk about anything and everything _not_ related to crimefighting. This last meeting, that was the topic of discussion." Barbara said, feeling absolutely special. If she only knew she was what Jim always talked about.

"Does Bruce know that Jim figured him out a few years ago?" Deke asked, getting up and wrapping his arms around her middle to hug her from behind. She cuddled into him and tickled his nose with her hair, before tasting her broth.

"That's wonderful, and I'm sure he does, but they keep this dance up. It's kind of funny actually, when you think about it. Bruce had Alfred, and then he raised Dick, Jason, and Tim, but Dad had a hand in raising Bruce too, in his own way. It's this circle of positive role-model that the world could use more of." Barbara said, glancing at the bowl of flour that was about to become homemade ramen noodles.

"That's cool as hell babe." Deke said, letting her go so she could work. "You sure you don't want any help? I feel like a lump."

"I'm sure. You and dough have a long and troubled past." Barbara said, reminding him of the one and only time he tried to make bread, and ended up with bludgeoning weapons fit to wield against Deathstroke.

He was about to offer a snappy retort when his phone rang with one of the generic ringtones, meaning the number wasn't one set in his contacts. With a curious look, he summoned the device to his hand from the living room and glanced at the screen. "Smallville Kansas? Why's Clark calling me?"

"Answer it before it goes to voicemail silly." Barbara said, shaking her head at her boy. He hit the accept button and put it to his ear.

"Hello?" he said, and his expression softened a bit. "Yes ma'am, I am. He did? Certainly, I'd be happy to. Oh, no ma'am, you don't have to do that, it wouldn't take me ten minutes anyway."

"Oh, okay, yes ma'am. I'll be there shortly." He said, looking visibly cowed. He set his phone down and gave Barbara a peculiar look. "That was Mrs. Kent. A small tornado hit and wound up tearing down some of the fencing in their pasture, and apparently Superman suggested me since he and Superboy are helping at a mine collapse in South Africa."

"Well get going then!" Barbara said, poking him in the shoulder. "I've never met her but she sounds like a dear woman."

"Right?" He said, grabbing his long rider. He'd heard the stories about how Clark used to get his chores done in no time, because they were so far out from anyone else he didn't have to worry about privacy, but it had to be cold out there in the plains. "Back soon, I love you!" he said, placing a kiss on his love.

"Have fun and I love you too!" Barbara called out as he stepped into his boots before heading out the door.

She watched him leave with a smile, wondering what exactly Mrs. Kent had said to him to cause him to back off from whatever he was declining. If Superman's stories were any indication, he'd be bringing home food of some sort, most likely something she shouldn't eat, but was probably going to anyway.

Speculation of food wasn't getting their early dinner cooked any faster though, so she returned to her work, going about the process of building the dough that would become the real ramen she'd been craving for weeks. It struck her as she busied herself that, as a college student, she hadn't eaten nearly as much of the stuff as she'd been led to believe, so making it would be satisfying a craving as well as a stereotype.

"Hello Quinn." She said deliberately, signaling her Q-Phone's digital assistant, still sour that Q-Core had been adamant about _that_ name for it. It had been an invitation for trouble, though Harley's shift in attitude made it less so, but that had just been good fortune.

"Yes Beautiful?" her phone replied, causing her to pause as color rose to her cheeks. She'd set her nickname as Babs, not Beautiful, she wasn't that self-absorbed. Blaming it on one or both of her lovers, she continued.

"Do I have anything new?" She asked, checking her notifications as she was currently elbow deep in noodle dough.

"Yes Beautiful, you have a missed call from Megan Morse. Would you like me to call her back now?" Quinn asked, his digital voice sounding more and more realistic since the last software update. She had to give them credit, Q-Core had some top notch developers. If work in Gotham didn't pan out, she supposed she could try e-commuting and working for them.

"Yes, on speaker please." She said, still casually kneading the dough, and wondering what Miss Martian wanted with her. It rang twice, M'gann's ringback tone some K-Pop song Barbara had never heard before.

"Hello Babs!" M'gann said quietly, but with that same chipper tone she was known for. "Did I interrupt you earlier or something?"

"No, not at all." Barbara said, red in the face. She knew exactly what M'gann thought she was interrupting. "I'd muted my phone earlier and then got caught up cooking. What's up?"

"Can we talk, like, at length? I've got something heavy on my plate and I could use the advice." M'gann said, though someone would never know it given her tone and attitude.

"Yeah, I'm free right now actually. Are you on duty?" Barbara asked, still working the noodle dough.

"Just off actually. I can Zeta to Gotham right now." M'gann offered. There on the Watchtower, she'd already adjusted the molecules in her costume, turning them into seasonable streetclothes, and shifting her skin tone.

"We're not in Gotham. We're holding out until the displaced homeless get places to stay. At the Zeta, key in for access point echo zero three zero zero two. You'll need your League override to access it though, it's one of the private pads." Barbara said, walking M'gann through how to get to Deke's garage. "Heads up, Fractal's in there working. I'll let him know you're showing up soon."

"Wonderful. Thank you Babs. I'm just so torn right now. I want to attend college, but I don't want to seem like I'm neglecting Conner." M'gann replied, her heart so huge Babs could see it from the kitchen in Kentucky.

"I guarantee you're the only person who'd think that." Barbara said, washing her hands and resting her phone halfway into her bra. It was trashy looking sure, and she'd never do it in public, but to run to the garage it was excusable in her book. "Hang on."


	9. Chapter 9 Healing and Building

December 13th  
Greenup Kentucky  
1335 EST  
Eight months after the quake

In the garage, Kris worked as Kris did. Diligent, hyperfocused, and motivated. Even the sudden appearance of his host, and then the equally sudden appearance of their guest only deterred him long enough to offer a friendly greeting before he got back to the task he'd put before him.

That particular task would have been much more easily handled with Nth metal, something in unsurprisingly short supply. Capable of holding a positively massive charge, it would completely eliminate his power supply problems, without resorting to Aasha's sorcery. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the help; it was that he wanted every single aspect of his suit to work in ways he understood.

"Scheisse!" He swore, almost throwing a wrench. Dwarf Star alloy, Nth Metal, any of a dozen other materials would work, perfectly in fact, but of course had no access to them. More and more he went back to Aasha's offer of sorcery, something he puzzled over for several minutes while he stood by the human door of the garage to cool off. He'd tasked his swarm to insulate the building using an absurd amount of Styrofoam coolers as the source material, turning them into a thin but perfect layer to keep the heat in on the cold winter, like some kind of alchemist.

"She's a genius and she doesn't know it." Kris said, when the lightbulb went off. He walked over to the large clearboard he'd set up, flicked a switch to make it a large monitor, and then accessed his swarm from the screen. Her offer of sorcery had put him into the mindset of ancient magic, which had steered him towards alchemy.

All matter was a combination of protons and electrons, put together whichever way necessary to become whatever it was. Atoms were nothing more than that, and his swarm, while larger, could replicate smaller and smaller versions of themselves, he'd just never bothered due to their remarkably limited mobility. "Let's turn lead into gold." He said to himself.

First, he accessed Nth metal's chemical makeup. Not an element, but a naturally occurring alloy. Fine, he could work with that. Fusing two elements in an electrochemical chain wasn't difficult. Carbon and iron made steel after all, and he worked with that frequently enough.

Once he had that laid out, looking at the component elements, he had his baseline. It was a matter of solving the puzzle then on how to fuse the atoms of readily available materials in sufficient supply to create the materials necessary. He couldn't just pull an electron from a piece of aluminum after all, seeing as how that'd be splitting the atom and such a thing, while almost terrifyingly easy to do, wasn't actually _on_ his to-do list, for many obvious reasons.

No, it was a puzzle indeed, how to join instead of split, and do so in such a way that the fusion reaction would be relatively cold. Once the material was in a proto-state, he could task his swarm to build as necessary, but the base blocks would be the problem. Fortunately, he had a computer with enough processing power to run the quick script he mentally wrote, which would compile combinations of readily available elements in such a manner to get that proto-material.

This allowed him enough time to really look at how much Nth he needed. Certainly not much, given that he could form it into nanotubes and weave it into the otherwise finished suit in the right kind of lattice. "Thity six grams, just over an ounce." He said to nobody in particular.

"Kris, did you say something?" He heard, and paused to look at Barbara, who was leaning into the garage, dressed far more warmly than she'd been when welcoming Miss Martian.

"Thinking out loud. Is everything okay?" He asked, noticing the look on her face, somewhere between simple care and concern.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Deke messaged me saying Mrs. Kent had decided to fully put him to work while she had the chance, but he ended the message by saying, and I quote, 'check on Kris, see if his junk's in order.' Which, Kris, I'll be honest, I never thought I'd ever have to ask." She said with a shade of red in her face to match her hair.

"Thoughtful, and to spare you the details, everything's fine. Still sore of course, but keeping occupied has been helping a lot. Do you want to step in? It's quite warm in here after all." He offered, gesturing welcomingly into a building she had far more ownership rights to than he did.

"No, I'm good. I've got food on the kitchen. I'll message you when it's finished, so keep your phone on, I'm not bringing it out to you." She said with a wink. The truth is, she would have, but she knew the look on his face, she'd worn it plenty herself, and worked with enough that shared that expression to know full well what it was. Total and complete immersion, the kind where the world could end and they wouldn't notice. That kind of immersion was productive, but it often came with a price almost as steep as the productivity.

"Never call me late for dinner." Kris replied with a wink of his own. Truth be told, he hadn't been eating well with the nausea that came with post-surgical painkillers, but having been able to eschew them meant his appetite was returning. Plus, he'd need to fuel up in order to keep his swarm running right. "I've just hit a good spot, where I can automate a lot of this. Shall I dress for dinner?"

"No, it won't be necessary." Barbara said, playing along. "Casual dining this evening."

"See you soon then." Kris said, and watched her back out of the door. When it clicked shut, he turned back to his work. He'd need a crucible capable of standing up the kind of energy output that would be produced in the not-as-cold-as-he'd-like fusion reaction. That could be achieved with strong enough magnetics, so easy enough. As he thought it up, his computer popped up a secondary holograph showing the designs rendering out in 3D. Eventually, he'd take some art classes just so he could really flex the depth of his abilities.

With the furnace planned out, and the materials for that being cheap enough, he then turned to his swarm, setting them to first deconstruct themselves by half, then rebuilding twice as many with the same amount of resources, and repeating the process until his swarm was multiplied in quantity by an amount equal to how far they'd divided in size. That was going to take some time, so he let his script run, and his swarm do their work, while he ordered some materials to overnight to him at the Hacienda.

After that, it was time to get rid of the old bandages, bathe, then fresh dressings and a fresh outfit. He was definitely feeling like a new man with the sudden inspiration, so much that it left him puzzling on whether or not to keep the scruff, groom it into something purposeful, or ditch it entirely. With Liho and Mustang both remaining more or less clean shaven, and Will only wearing a thin mustache and chin whisker combo, Kris felt like there might not be enough beard representation.

* * *

"So, I have to know." Barbara said, the minute her boy walked into the kitchen, recognizing him by the sound of his footfalls. "Is she really as wonderful and lovely as the stories?"

"Turn around and tell me." He said, three pies orbiting him as he walked fully into the kitchen. She turned to look at him and smiled as he shook the last bit of snow from his shoulders and hair, while the pies drifted to rest on the table.

"There goes cooking healthy." Barbara said with a shake of her head. "M'gann stopped by for a visit, she's getting the tour from Ash."

"So no getting frisky, got it. Smells amazing in here babe, is it late lunch or early dinner though?" He said, hanging his coat up and moving across the room to place a kiss on her. She returned the favor, placing a hand on his cheek and giving him a bright smile.

"Dunno, depends on how everyone feels afterwards. I'll be honest though, I'm glad M'gann showed up, because I think I got a restaurant recipe for the noodles. There's a ridiculous amount of them." She said, gesturing towards the counter where there were, in fact, a ridiculous amount of noodles laid out drying.

"You're cooking in here, Kris is outside in my garage cooking up something that involves what looks like a kiln and scuba tanks, which I'll be honest, I have no idea where he got them. Speaking of getting things though, there's a massive snowfall moving in, it'll probably knock the Zeta system offline for a day or two. If you need out of here, I'm going to have to fly you." Deke said, eying the pies greedily. He didn't get fresh, homemade pie near as often as he'd like.

"No, I'm good. Ash and I went to the grocery store this morning. If it gets too bad, Conner can get M'gann in the Bioship, or she can pull up some couch since the far side of it folds out." Barbara said, bending over and peeking into the oven at her slow roasted pork, giving her butt a wiggle.

"Sounds good to me." Deke said, coming out of his chair and giving her bottom a swat, which brought a giggle out of her. "I'm going to get into some dry clothes babe."

"You do that Cowboy." Barbara said before turning the fire on under the pot with the eggs, finally giving them the chance to boil. She watched him head out of the kitchen and then pulled the pork out of the oven to rest, and then eyed the titanic pile of noodles she'd made, giving them a look like they were talking behind her back or something.

While she did that, Deke strolled upstairs, and headed into his bedroom, where he found Aasha and M'gann sitting on the bed. "Ladies." He said with a nod, glad he hadn't shucked his jeans before walking in.

"Do you need the room?" M'gann asked, already coming to her feet. She didn't seem afraid or embarrassed, in fact, the sensation coming off of her was one of serene relief. Whatever Ash and Babs had told her had apparently helped.

"Changing clothes sis, you tell me." Deke said to her with a wink, digging into his dresser for a pair of warm pants and a dry shirt. M'gann smiled and scurried out of the room, giving Ash a glance before remembering their situation, and just closed the door behind her.

"I think I love that girl." Aasha said to Deke as he pulled his pants off. He gave her an amused look, since she was radiating a sense of emotional well-being too. "She's everything I want to be."

"Green, psychic, heroic, and a beast in the kitchen?" Deke asked, catching Aasha looking at him, and wishing she wasn't. He was cold at the moment, so he wasn't exactly looking his _best_.

"Well, I more meant the positive attitude she has, but I wouldn't mind being able to bake like she does, now that I think of it." Aasha said, almost thoughtlessly raising the temperature in the room a few degrees at the sight of her lover shivering. "Come here a minute." She said, when it seemed that wasn't enough.

Deke walked over to her, where she patted the bed. With a shrug, he took a seat, and was surprised when she pulled her shirt off and sat behind him, wrapping him up in a hug. "There now, let's get you warmed up."

"Keep taking your clothes off and it'll be a guarantee." Deke said, craning his neck around and sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth. She swatted his arm lightly, and went back to her cuddling.

"Not what I meant and you know it." Aasha said, shaking her head at him. She couldn't deny that having her bare breasts pressed up against his back was nice, but this was about warming a whole body, not one part of it. "Dinner smells lovely, doesn't it?" she asked, intentionally changing the subject.

"Hell yes it does." Deke said emphatically, going ahead and laying down on his side like she was trying to steer him to do. "I brought pies back from Superman's mom by the way, strawberry rhubarb, coconut cream, and apple, since you're curious. She said she was in a baking mood."

Feeling more comfortable at not having to hold herself up quite so much, Aasha was able to relax, though she found herself unsure what to do with her hands. He had a mane of hair in her face just begging to be petted, but that would certainly make him fall asleep, she and he were perfectly alike in that regard. If she kept her hands on his chest too much longer though, she was going to wind up groping.

Feeling her puzzlement, Deke grabbed her hands and squeezed them, and just held to them a minute. "You're a warm little kitten, you know that?" he asked, immediately feeling her grow blush-y and shy at his words. He'd been saving that one for a while now.

Behind him, Aasha had indeed colored at his words, vibrantly so at the suddenness of it. "That's so very kind of you to say." She replied, unsure what else she _could_ say. Something about his words struck her deep, in the most wonderful way. Still, she couldn't let it hang at a greeting card reply, so she nuzzled the nape of his neck, licked his cheek, and meowed for him.

Deke snickered, but if he had other plans, they were immediately put on hold when his phone began chirping. On the charger in the corner, so did hers. "Shit." He mumbled, digging his device out of his pocket. "Batch text to all the reservists, don't bother getting up." He said to Aasha, and opened the message.

"There's apparently a group of vigilantes in Seattle that Batman wants someone to have the talk with." Deke said, scanning the message and condensing it. "It's low urgency though, he just wants it done sometime after the holidays."

"I'll do it." Aasha said, coming up off the bed and grabbing her phone, blithely responding while topless. She turned to look at the male half of her lovers and smiled. "Sorry love, I've been so bored lately. Work's at a lull since we got everything catalogued for insurance, but there's certainly no business right now, and I'm already volunteering as many places as possible with Christmas upcoming. Speaking of, by the way, are you doing anything for it?"

Deke nodded, pulling his warm clothes on. "Yeah, I've done enough crimefighting around here since the quake people are used to hearing about me helping with the drug problem, so I'm doing something local. There's this kid in Japan who makes toys for fun, he Zeta'd this massive shipment up to the Watchtower to help the League with their holiday stuff, so I'm taking a case of them for here."

"I more meant personally love." Aasha said, pulling her shirt back on and plopping down on the bed again. "We've got the League party and the Mover's after-party. What about Christmas eve proper?"

"I was gonna get a tree for here, but don't tell Babs, I wanna surprise her. I'm picking up Jim at three o'clock, and Mami and Papi are already planning a menu." Deke said conspiratorially.

Aasha smiled, but it was a wan one. "Are you still too ashamed to tell your parents about me?"

"Aasha Kathryn, what made you think I was ashamed of you?" Deke said, pausing mid-belting. Her emotional shift had happened so dramatically he hadn't had time to prepare at all for it, and it hit him like a freight train.

"You won't tell them about me. Babs' dad knows, and he actually likes me really well. I assumed you were ashamed." She said, finally mustering up the courage to say what she'd been thinking about since her birthday a few weeks ago.

Deke frowned at her words, mostly because he wasn't at all ashamed of her, but also because he'd led her to think that way apparently. "Ash, kitten, that ain't it at all. I haven't said anything because I really don't know how. Mami and Papi are really straightforward people, but Mami's really traditionally minded. You didn't exactly tell your mom about us either, probably for the same reason."

Aasha nodded, and grew slightly puzzled at his blank look. "Mum would have begun a tirade that she wouldn't yet be in the middle of. Not because I'm sleeping with a girl, but because I'm sleeping with a couple, meaning I'm interested in men, but not in committing to one. Which is bollocks of course."

Deke nodded, quietly feeling the presences in the house beginning to descend on the room. "So, no shame with either of us, just not sure how to break it to the family yet." He said, and watched the door open. He'd telepathically poked Babs about Ash having a bleak moment, and she'd arrived, M'gann in tow. There'd be no bleak moments in that house.

Especially since Kris had begun his automation process outside, meaning he could relax in the house until sometime the next evening, when he could step outside to his armor, brand new, shiny, and ready to be tested.


	10. Chapter 10 The Seattle Connection pt 1

**AN:** This chapter written for IllusoryGentleman by request. Please enjoy!

* * *

January 20th  
Seattle Washington  
2015 PST  
Eight months after the quake

"Biggy, we're in position." The Fencer said over the radio, absently placing his hand on the throat mic to communicate. He'd picked them up at a duty supply store for a steal on account of the fact they were damaged in shipping, and repaired them. He was a man of many talents, that one.

"Do we have to call him Biggy? For that matter, do we have to work with him at all?" Fencer's companion in both crimefighting, and life said. A pale, black haired beauty, she sat next to him in the van, her eyes far more focused on the several screens showing the hijacked feeds than her disdainful tone would let on.

" _Terrible_ codename aside, he's good to have around." Fencer said, absently tap-checking the equipment on his belt and MOLLE suspenders for the hundredth time. Unlike the Metahuman he was madly in love with, he had no superpowers, just a brain and determination to use it for good. "Believe it or not, he's a legit sumotori."

"No. I refuse to believe it. He's big but he's not _that_ big." The Jade Queen replied, shaking her head, but still refusing to take her eyes off the screens, the lot of them honestly reminding her of the camera monitors available to a director for an on-location film shoot, which, to be fair, is what the van they were occupying was used for.

"Believe it. Hand to hand, I don't always win when we're training, plus, he just _knows_ things." Fencer replied, saving his blade for last. He'd kept the sword he'd disarmed from one of the Joker's henchmen, that weapon hanging over the small mantle back home in their apartment. It was remarkable quality, but when he realized it was time to upgrade, his beloved was already on top of it, having presented him with a beautiful Spanish steel blade she'd purchased in Toledo.

"I've made contact." Biggy said over the radio, the sound quality terrible since he had to use an earbud in his current guise. "There's definitely illegal fighting going on here, and that same woman is running the show."

"Roulette." The buxom metahuman said with a frown, going to the pinhole camera they'd been able to conceal in Biggy's tuxedo. Armani, and he just had it laying in his closet, why and how were completely beyond her, and she was not unintelligent. "That's my cue."

"Good luck, I'll be here waiting. Bug out code is zinfandel, and if I lose connection, I come in hot." Fencer replied, watching his love stand up. She smoothed out her long black cocktail dress, taking a minute to put her breasts in place, and slipped into seven inch heels. "I love you." He added.

"I love you both too." Biggy said over the radio.

"Damnit, he was talking to me." The Metahuman replied with a frown. This friend of her boy's had better be worth the trouble. She had to put that thought away though, as it was time to get to work. She stepped out of the van, and walked the two blocks to the building in the cold northwest snow, as though she couldn't feel it. It was because she really couldn't feel the cold anymore, but it certainly helped to sell the act.

Upon arriving at the front door of the otherwise unremarkable building off of the main downtown drag, she was greeted by a large doorman, who was about to give her the standard hassle, until his partner stopped him. "That's Veronica East. She gets in." the other doorman said, recognizing her immediately and using her stage name. It paid to be a famous actress for gigs like this, even if she did have to get creative when it came time to _cool off_.

"Thank you." The Jade Queen replied with an easy social grace, before stepping indoors. As unremarkable as it was on the outside, the interior was far less plain, with nice wood, deep and plush red velvet, and thick carpeting laid out for the elite to come and play. Just as Biggy had said, there was a large ring setup in the center of the place, several levels below, as though they were planning a private Wrestlemania for the wealthy.

She mingled about, occasionally casting a glance at Biggy, still wholly unconvinced he was remotely anything she'd been told he was. One small comfort came in that his responses were similarly surreptitious. The Jade Queen took a glass of champagne from one of the passing service workers, took a sip, and then had her attention stolen in short order.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" An amplified voice said as most of the lights shut off, save for running lights at the baseboards, and the spotlights over the ring. "Welcome to another night of Bloodsport!"

The Jade Queen stood there in the upper stands, having no desire to leave the nosebleeds. In a short moment, when entrance music for one of the fighters began playing, she was joined by Biggy, who leaned against the waist high wall on both hands, seeming perfectly comfortable. "Miss East, I love you films. Black Heart of Terror was underrated."

Well that was certainly different. "Thank you, most people skip it in favor of The Shadow Realm." She replied, her eyes focused on the ring.

"The production value's certainly higher, but Black Heart was the original. I feel like the writer's integrity was compromised when the studio bought the rights for the remake." Biggie said, absently gesturing, as though speaking with his hands, though the motion drew her attention, exactly like he'd planned.

In the center of the ring, Roulette stood there on the mic, refusing to let someone else build the hype for her fights. "We've got three fights on the card tonight, the main event promising to be a spectacle for the ages! First up, Sanguine Sal looks to come off of a losing streak tonight against Nikki Numbchucks."

"It's nunchaku." Biggy corrected under his breath.

"Next, all the way from Osaka, Masaharu Michinoku faces off against Kevin "Street Samurai" Morris in a live steel sword duel. We've set for first blood so we can see more of these great duelists, but one can never be too sure!" Roulette called out, knowing her crowd came for blood, but quietly hoping both of the swordsman would remember they were both more valuable alive than dead.

"Finally, a treat for you all that I've been working hard to make happen, so I hope you appreciate this. We have Rose "Ravager" Wilson facing off in a handicap match against five opponents, who you all know as the Blood Train!"

"Something about her attitude says that last fight's personal." The Jade Queen said to Biggy. Roulette had a strong vibe of smug self-satisfaction when announcing that last match. "Oh, excuse me." She added, when an older man bumped into her.

"Sorry miss." He said pleasantly, turning to look at her directly. The man was older indeed, with a mane of steel gray hair in a ponytail, and wearing a legit, honest-to-God eyepatch. At least he had some manners, and excellent taste in suits. "Should've kept an eye out." He added with a wry smirk.

"It's no trouble, nothing spilled." The Jade Queen replied, feeling absolutely unnerved all of a sudden. Something about the man was positively terrifying the minute he focused his full attention on her. "Enjoy the fights."

"Oh, I plan to." The man said, and strolled down the steps with an ease and economy of motion neither of the vigilantes missed.

"That man is scary as hell." Biggy said, quaffing the last of his champagne in one drink.

"Yeah." The Jade Queen replied, keeping her eye on him, and glad she had. He'd no more gotten to the bottom of the steps, right at ring level, when he reached into his coat, withdrew a pistol, and started shooting at Roulette.

"Shooting." She said, leaning directly into Biggy's ear to use his comm. They only had the one earbud and the throat mic would have ruined the lines of the dress. When Biggy nodded and ducked behind the wall, The Jade Queen made her move.

The uproar had definitely caused a panic, which had included the bartender in the upper level, who'd dropped the glass they were cleaning and taken off. It gave The Jade Queen a chance to duck behind the service station and trigger the metamorphosis.

It came easier, every single time she did it, that change from the woman to the creature within her. Milky green ice began crawling across her body, starting at her core and working its way out to her fingers and toes. The smooth material was broken up by sudden and symmetrical shards, extending from her body at dangerous angles; each change, they were totally different, as though a new creature emerged.

Fortunately, it seemed to obey her to some degree, as no portion of her dress was damaged, though _that_ would certainly change in an instant. Coming over the bar, she saw the rushing mob of people making their way to the doors, and decided to let the evacuation happen. What they were interested in was Roulette, who needed to be alive to see justice.

When Fencer slipped in through a service entrance opposite, she smiled. It was time to go to work.

January 20th  
Seattle Washington  
2110 PST  
Eight months after the quake

"Oh my God, who was that?" The Jade Queen said, urgently trying to patch up a series of cuts across Biggy's torso, while Fencer drove their van as far from the scene of that mess as possible. "That wasn't a human."

"Neither of them were." Fencer replied, driving one handed while he kept pressure on a nasty cut over his orbital. "I get the feeling we weren't even really on his radar that whole time, and the girl was more attacking out of spite."

"I've got footage." Biggy said weakly. "We can run facial recognition."

"Yeah, for real, we need to holy shit!" Fencer said, suddenly swerving when he saw someone flying alongside their van. Biggy and The Jade Queen were tossed in the back of the van as Fencer took it up onto a curb before coming right back off and hitting the brakes on the empty Seattle side street.

"What the hell was that?" The woman in the back snapped. She'd taken a nasty bump when the van had first hit the curb. It wasn't at all like her man to drive that badly, especially on streets he'd spent his entire life on.

"Bugger, sorry about that." They heard when the passenger door opened. "I need to work on my entrances. Do any of you need help?"

The Jade Queen turned to see who'd climbed into their van, and for a minute, felt absolutely challenged. Whoever the chick was, she was doing Goth like a genuine boss, in that bolero coat and corset dress with the perfect makeup. "Yeah, all three of us now." She snarked.

"Bloody hell I imagine so." Their visitor said, her appearance absolutely familiar to Fencer, who got the van moving again.

"We met you in Gotham not that long ago, didn't we?" He asked, making a beeline to their safehouse. They were far enough away from the mess that driving to obfuscate their route was no longer important. "You, Batgirl, and some cowboy, right?"

"Yes, that's me. Daeva, and the cowboy is," Daeva began, but the worst injured of the lot interrupted her.

"Daeva and Mustang, they're Justice League. I saw them on the news with some others." He said, almost deliriously. "Can we get home soon now?"

"That's where we're heading buddy, don't worry." Fencer said, hating the traffic lights, but knowing the attention running them would bring would be worse. "Could've used a hand from the League back there." He added, glancing at Daeva.

"I was busy putting the fire out in the building. For future reference, that was Deathstroke, and it pays to keep out of his way unless your first name is either Bat, Super, or Wonder." Daeva replied, sparing another glance at their injured. She had some magic for it, but she needed a quiet space to perform it.

"So, you're here to give us advice?" The Jade Queen asked, biting the ice back quite literally, as it wanted to climb out again of its own accord. "Because that would have been nice two hours ago."

"No, I came to check on you. Batman was tracking your work, and felt it was time to see how well you handled things. I'm supposed to give you a lecture if you're in over your heads, but that's not at all fair given who showed up this evening. Who was your intended target?" Daeva asked, giving the larger fellow in the back another worried look. Wherever they were based out of, she hoped it was close.

"Roulette, she's been running underground fighting rings up and down the west coast. We caught wind of her in LA, and followed her up here." The Jade Queen replied sourly. "She's in the wind now, if she's even still alive."

"Remains to be seen, Deathstroke is very efficient. She's a horrible person but I don't wish him on my worst of enemies. Fencer, please tell me we're close, I'm not sure your friend has much blood left to bleed." Daeva said, looking at their driver.

"Next block." He replied, and managed to skim the yellow light before pulling into a parking garage attached to an apartment building. They stopped on the first floor, close to the elevator, and piled into the lift. Fencer hit the sub-basement button three times in a measured pace, and together they traveled down, continuing to move even after sub-basement three lit up.

The doors opened up into what looked like a converted boiler room that hadn't boiled a drop since the eighties. Several flatscreens lined one wall, while a small server setup resided in the far corner. In the middle of the room was a large table that The Jade Queen was already swiping clean without a single care for what fell in the floor, while Fencer helped Biggy onto the table. "Do we have any for him?" he asked, pointing to a converted wine cooler, where a few blood bags hung.

"Yeah, here." The Jade Queen said, tossing him a pint. With an efficiency borne of practice, Fencer ran the line into Biggy's arm, and set him up to receive his own blood.

"I can table that lecture." Daeva said, in awe at the way the trio moved about their tasks. She detested standing idle, but she'd just be in the way until their first aid could be completed and she could work what healing magic she knew.

"Good, we wouldn't listen." The Jade Queen replied, beginning to pace, while frost formed in her footsteps. She stopped her pacing long enough to see their guest approach Biggy. Daeva placed her small hands on his chest, and began murmuring quietly. After a few seconds, her palms began shedding light, and the labored breathing of their newest teammate calmed.

Daeva kept at it for several agonizingly long minutes. Healing magic was not at all her forte, but it was better than nothing, and it would serve to support the work Fencer was doing as well. "Whew, that's me as far as that goes. Why didn't you let the EMT's take him?"

"Seattle has a very grim attitude about vigilantes. Green Arrow's presence in Star City has turned that place into a freak magnet, and the city commission doesn't want the same thing to happen here." Fencer said, his opinion on that issue perfectly clear. "We just got this place set up too, I'd hate to waste it already."

"I can't argue with that." Daeva said, wondering if this is how Captain Atom felt when he had to show up to help the Movers any of the several times they'd had to call for help during their first year. "Gotham's just warmed up to the idea and Batman's been there for ages it seems. What about Los Angeles?"

"LA _wants_ more vigilantes." The Jade Queen said with a wry look on her face. "A television producer offered the use of his penthouse to a legit superhero team if they'd set up shop there. It felt like a shady deal though, and I bet LAPD isn't exactly keen on the idea either."

"So, you'll just bounce up and down the coast?" Daeva asked, absently touching Biggy on the shoulder, hoping her meager healing magics were powerful enough, and wondering if she could serve as a defibrillator if they weren't (though she hoped it wouldn't come to that, like, ever).

"Yeah, Coast City and Star City have their own heroes, but the rest of it is fair game." Fencer said, wiping the blood from his rapier clean. "Someone's gotta handle it, and the League's too busy on the east coast."

"There's the Titans in San Diego. I can give you a means to contact them if you need help sooner than later." Daeva offered, knowing Red Robin's team was just now starting to get their feet under them. "I know several of them as well, they're excellent people and very well trained. I'm certain they'd be happy to offer advice and training too."

"I wouldn't turn down the help." Fencer said, but the look on his love's face said she was less inclined to play well with others. Not that _that_ was in any way surprising. "If we need it." He added diplomatically, which seemed to work well enough.


	11. Chapter 11 My Father's Eyes

**AN** : There's a nice shiny nickel in it for you if you can spot the cameo. If/When you do... mention it in a review. I love those. 

* * *

February 20th  
Roswell New Mexico  
0935 PST  
Nine months after the quake

"Ash, chick, thanks again for keeping Drew." Maddie said into her phone, while she dressed for the day, having selected simple jeans and a rather conservative sweater. "You're sure the spouses are cool with you being away for a couple of days?"

Maddie snickered as she opened her makeup case, absently pawing through it to find something that made her feel pretty, but nothing like her 'usual'. It was a precarious balance to strike, seeing as how she was meeting the man responsible for knocking her mother up with her. "Okay, well, there's plenty of food in the house, and Drew's pretty self-sufficient. You're on his safe pickup list for school if I don't make it into town soon enough Monday."

"Yeah, I will, you too. Thanks again Ash, see you in a couple of days, bye." Maddie said, setting her phone off to the side to put her makeup on. While she worked, her mind went to a thousand different places all at once. She'd seen photographs of Max, but they were from the mid-nineties. How would he look now? Would he look different at all?

Deciding enough was enough, Maddie put her worries away, finished her lipstick, and paused in front of the full length mirror in her small motel room. She'd refused to drop the highlights and colored strip in her hair, no matter how super-powered soccer mom she might ever become, and had, in fact, just changed from pink to a peacock green that popped just right. Still, that hair of hers was pinned up, and her makeup was business casual. She stuck her tongue out at herself in the mirror, snickered, and grabbed the keys to her rental, still grateful she'd gotten Kris to teach her how to drive a few months back.

She drove, using her QPhone to navigate, maneuvering through the big small town that was most famously known for an alien crash, and not missing the irony one bit. The navigator app kept her on route, and took her into a decent middle class neighborhood, not what she was expecting from the guy who used to take her mother to grunge and metal concerts on the regular.

"Your destination is on the left." Her phone told her, showing the address he'd emailed her attached to a nice white house with wood trim. The lawn was fresh, green, and manicured, with some fairly run of the mill suburban landscaping. Yeah, not what she'd expected at all.

With a sigh, Maddie pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, frowning at the chill of the late New Mexico winter, and wishing she'd brought a jacket. Apparently, seasonal temperatures weren't on the list of adaptive stimuli.

She hadn't even gotten to the door when it opened, giving her a pause. A tall, slender fellow with a dated haircut and a chin full of scruff and wearing a green tee-shirt over a white thermal paired with jeans, stood there looking at her for a moment with a puzzled expression. "Madeline?" he asked in a soft-spoken voice.

"Max?" Maddie asked, noticing he looked roughly her age. "I'm late, I know. I flew into Albuquerque and the flight was delayed."

"You're right on time." He said, walking directly to her and wrapping her up in a hug. "I owe you so much, but please, come inside, it's cold out here." He said into her ear, squeezing her tight.

"So, you can feel the cold too. I thought it was just me." Maddie said, following Max into the house. Inside, the walls were covered with art. Concert posters, playbills, the occasional industrial portrait. Apparently, he'd turned hiding himself into a way of life.

"No, it's not just you Madeline." Max said, gesturing for her to follow him into the kitchen, where she could smell something on the stove. "I've been cooking, but it's not really one of my skills."

"I'm not that picky, and you didn't have to go through the trouble anyway." Maddie said, taking a seat at the kitchen island. "So, here's me."

Max nodded, trying not to fuss over a dozen things. "You look like your mother, but you have my sister's eyes. You're quite beautiful." He said, his tone something Maddie wasn't used to. He was just being complimentary, not trying to hit on her. That was new. "Like I said outside, I owe you a great deal, but I suppose the explanation's top of the list."

"Mom told me she was engaged when she met you." Maddie said. "It's a Hamptons thing, sleeping around on people, nothing new there."

"You seem pretty well adjusted then. Of course, that might just be from my own experience." Max said, turning to mess with the stove, and then forcing himself to stop. "Madeline, I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this." He added, still so soft spoken. Maddie had no idea what her mom had seen in the guy.

"No, it's cool, this is kind of new for both of us. How about we get the weird out of the way first? Cause, we're both aliens and that's not something you see every day." She said, hoping to shatter the ice more than break it.

"No, I suppose not. What do you want to know about the world we come from?" Max asked, finally settling on getting himself a soda from the fridge, and offering her one as well.

"Thank you." Maddie said, opening the lid and sipping at it. "I uh, I know some textbook stuff about Nishia, but I guess I wanna know how you got here from there." Maddie asked, not sure if she should mention where she learned what she had.

"It's a fair question. I got here when some travelers were mapping a route. I was out ditching school when I saw the wormhole open. I was excited at first, he looked like me, but then a grotesque creature and two monsters joined him. They set up some equipment, ran some tests, and then opened their wormhole again. I don't know what possessed me to follow them, but I did, and wound up here. That was in nineteen seventy five." Max said, calling the memory up and regaling her with a distant voice.

"Seventy five? How old are you?" Maddie asked incredulously.

"Well, I wasn't much of a scholar on Nishia, so I don't really know the relation of solar cycles. I was seventeen Nishian years old, so sixty I suppose." Max said thoughtfully. "I don't know why I can do what I do, and I assume you can too."

"Earth's sun is yellow." Maddie said, not sure why she trusted him as much as she did. Trust was not in the Maddie Endicott playbook. "Nishia's is red, the solar energy does something to us."

"Just like Superman." Max said, still sounding so distant. "Shame we can't fly."

"Well…" Maddie began, letting her voice trail off.

"You can fly? That's amazing. You know how to use your pheromones I take it?" Max asked, for the first time actually looking as excited as he wanted to seem.

"Yeah, but they don't always work." Maddie said, glancing at the oven. She stood up, walked over, and reached in, pulling the pan out barehanded. "This is pretty reliable though. I can chuck a car if I don't feel like outrunning one."

"That's remarkable." Max said, going ahead and basting the small turkey breast he had roasting since it was out. "I've got the strength and durability, but I can't fly and I'm stuck at normal speed. What about your brother?"

"Braeden? Same deal as me. He's a lot faster than I am, but I hit harder, and I'm guessing he can't fly either. I should mention, the flying is new though, like, less than a year ago I worked that one out." Maddie said. "Uhm, I don't know when the last time you spoke to mom was, but uh, your grandson is already exhibiting powers too."

"I have a grandson? Is he yours, or your brother's?" Max asked, and if it had been Maddie, she wouldn't have been so happy to look that young and be called a grandparent.

"Mine, he's almost seven now, about to finish up first grade." Maddie said, not quite ready to pull out the baby pictures just yet. She wasn't sure how Max would take to her explanation that there were about six guys out there with an equal chance of being Drew's dad.

"You didn't bring him with you? Of course you didn't, you're smarter than that." Max said, sounding like he was chastising himself. "I hope I'll have a chance to meet him one day."

Maddie looked at the awkward fellow that she'd been communicating with over email for months, the man who'd swept her mother up in a whirlwind romance years ago, and then again not two years later. "Max, listen, you're nervous as can be, and it's making me nervous."

"Sorry, this is just so, I don't know Madeline, so different for me."

"Maddie, please, or Mads."

"Maddie, okay. Uhm, I'm terrible with people, I'll be honest I don't know what your mother ever saw in me, but she did and I never complained about it. I knew I had two kids, and I know why your mother had to keep away from me. I understood that, and I respected her decision, but there's a lot I just don't understand and I'm trying. Please, forgive me." Max said, going from soft spoken to emphatically sincere in no time flat.

"It's cool. Let's start with this turkey." Maddie said patiently, coming out of her seat again to help him cook the meal he was effectively ruining due to his own nerves. "How about while we do this, you can ask me anything."

"Okay. Well, are you married?" Max asked as he checked the small pot of mixed greens. "Was that funny?" he asked when Maddie snickered loudly, something she hadn't actually meant to do.

"No, never married, just dated around. I actually sort of, kind of broke up with the first steady guy I've had in, well, forever really. Mom took care of my son, I was a mess, honestly, I still am. When she passed, I had to become Susie Single-mom homemaker. I couldn't drag along a boyfriend into that." Maddie said, seeing red potatoes laid out, and presuming they were there to be roasted too.

"But you seem to be adapting. Sorry, that's a bad joke. Did I see you on the news recently? Sometime in June, in a costume, on the steps of the Hall of Justice?" Max asked, giving her a sidelong glance.

"Wow, maybe I _do_ need to step the identity game up." Maddie said with a frown. "I kinda figured everyone was looking at the cleavage."

"Not everyone. I'm not sure how appropriate this is to say but cleavage doesn't catch my attention." Max said with a shrug.

"Then what'd you see in my mother?" Maddie asked, suddenly puzzled and curious as to what it really was. She and her mother were both significantly _blessed_ , to the point her college roommate used her mom as a model when she got her implants.

"She was lonely. I could see it in her eyes. She acted like she had everything, but at the same time, it's like she was grasping for anything to hold steady against." Max said quietly. "And if I'm being perfectly honest, she approached me. I wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't said hello first."

"Mom was a good soul. Flighty sometimes, but she really was one of the good ones." Maddie said, giving Max a look. Maybe she was seeing it now, and maybe the mystery of her parentage was less unsolvable than before. "So you saw me on the news. I guess I'm curious how you feel about that."

"I never had the courage to try and help. Despite the weapons here not being strong enough to hurt me, I was always afraid to try. I think I spent my entire measure of valor coming here, which, in retrospect, was completely worth it." Max said, cracking a lopsided, almost awkward smile. "But I can hear about all of this on the news. I'd like to hear more about you, what do you do for a living?"

"Wedding planner, actually. I know, it's funny given my reaction to getting married myself, but I'm not bad at it. I've got two under my belt already, and a pretty big one I'm doing pro bono for some friends." Maddie said, going ahead and slicing the potatoes for him.

"Must be some friends." Max said, joining her in cutting the aforementioned spuds. "It pays the bills I hope."

"Yeah, mom left me enough to make sure I wouldn't ever be homeless, but I don't want to use that if I don't have to. And my friends, yeah, they're amazing. All of them really. I used to think it was just me against the world, and I owed myself nothing but a hundred percent effort. Now, not so much. I can ask for help, and even without it, I feel like I'm stronger now." Maddie said in a moment of honest introspection.

"I wish I had something to do with that attitude." Max said, feeling quietly proud of her. "It's healthy, and good."

"Thanks," Maddie said, a touch of color rising to her cheeks. "You wouldn't have liked me much when I was younger. I didn't like me much when I was younger. This is kind of a new thing I'm doing."

"It's a good thing. Do you have any questions for me?" Max asked, pulling the turkey breast out of the oven and setting it on the counter, only to replace it with the potatoes."

"You said you had a sister, so, what's your side of my family like?" Maddie asked, covering the bird in foil to let it rest gradually instead of just getting cold.

"Your aunt is, or was, I suppose, a good woman. You have two nieces and a nephew from her. Your grandmother, she was probably less so. I think half the reason I had the nerve to leave was to get away from her. A very judgmental woman, that one." Max explained, and got another bemused look on his face when she snickered again.

"Sorry, my maternal grandmother is also really judge-y. I suppose it's just fate. Hey, your son, do you want to know about Braeden, past what I've told you on email? I don't much like him, but he's still my brother and all." Maddie said, deciding to just address the elephant in the room.

"Yes please. Do you know where he went wrong?" Max asked solemnly.

"No, but it wasn't for a lack of a father figure, it's not your fault. I don't know what happened with Braeden, he just, I guess he fell in love with the Hamptons lifestyle and stopped caring about he got it. Greed, just a whole lot of greed." Maddie said with a frown. "He's in Belle Reve now, like I said in the emails. Maximum security, no visitors, eligible for parole in another eight years, and it's probably for the best."

Max nodded. "I'm sorry I'm so disorganized, my questions going all over the place."

"It's okay, I guess I get it honest. I just thought I was ADD or something." Maddie said with a shrug. "So, after dinner, would you like to talk to your grandson?"


	12. Chapter 12 My Son's Heart

February 22nd  
Destin Florida  
1245 CST  
Nine months after the quake

Aasha stood before an easel, in her usual state. Dressed only in old panties, and covered in paint so that her body was her palette, she was fully prepared to work, and work, she'd done. Portraiture wasn't her focus, but she'd caught Ingrid just coming out of the workshop and something about the way the woman walked, so proud and self-satisfied, had captured her attention, and so, there she stood, painting a very Disney influenced portrait of her teammate.

At least, until her phone rang. "Work it out between yourselves you two." Aasha mumbled. She hated when Deke and Babs fought, and this one had been a doozy, leaving her in the unenviable position of being in between it. When she glanced at her phone, and saw it was Drew's school calling though, her mood changed immediately.

"Yes, hello?" she asked, putting the phone on speaker and reaching for some wipes to clean herself up in the event she had to get to the school in a hurry.

"Miss Nagra?" The voice on the other end said, and her tone of voice wasn't that of friendly conversation.

"Yes, that's me, what can I do for you?" Aasha said, going ahead and wiping the paint away quickly, scrubbing hard and fast, which left multihued streaks across her body.

"Miss Nagra, this is Principal Rosenbaum. Andrew is with the nurse currently, he's okay, but it might be best to collect him so he can see his doctor." The principal said, her voice carefully modulated to remain as 'school administration' as possible. "His classwork has already been gathered for him."

"I'll be along quite shortly, thank you." Aasha said, not wasting time with the nail brush or the splash of thinner, deciding if the school had a problem with Drew's caregiver being an artist, they could have a generous nibble on her bum.

She dressed hastily, tossing on an old tee shirt and her jeans, and stepping into some slip-on shoes, before dashing out the door of the Hacienda. The entire drive to the elementary school had her stomach in knots. For the past two days, she'd been a remarkable caregiver to Drew, and had spent the time with him letting him get covered in paint. Her own children were still an unachievable idea, but her skills as Auntie Aasha were improving remarkably.

When she walked into the school building, she was ushered into the brightly colored nurse's office, where Drew was sitting there on the small exam table, swinging his legs in the air happily. "Aasha! You came for me!" He cried out, and hopped down, rushing straight for her.

"My goodness, hello Drew." Aasha said, hugging the little fellow. "What's the matter with him? He seems perfectly healthy to me." She asked, looking at the school nurse, and who she presumed was a guidance counselor.

"Drew's perfectly healthy, yes, but I'm worried about his development. We had a small incident in his classroom today. One of the students, during his post-lunch individual time, was trying to reach some building supplies, and the bookcase they were on wound up toppling over on him. Drew here, he picked up the entire bookcase and threw it halfway across the room to help." The nurse said, and while Aasha wasn't a psychic, it didn't take much to work out just exactly what the nurse was insinuating.

"I wanted to help. Am I in trouble?" Drew asked, glancing up at Aasha with his baby blue eyes, etched with worry.

"No sweetheart, not from me you aren't. Nurse Crawford," Aasha said, reading her name on her school ID. "His mother returns home from business later this afternoon, I'll pass this along to her so she can schedule something with you, shall I?" she used the very British pronunciation of the word schedule, despite her accent fading more and more, to emphasize her point. She knew, perhaps better than the casual person, how to talk to someone to seem in charge, since she enjoyed being spoken to like that in her private time.

"Yes, of course Miss Nagra. Drew's classwork for the day is in his backpack. We'll await word from his mother. Have a good day, and Drew, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow, okay?" The nurse said, kneeling down to look at him directly.

"Yes Nurse Crawford." Drew said shyly, still clinging to Aasha's waist.

"Come along Drew, let's get you home." Aasha said, digging her keys out of her pocket. Together, the two of them strolled out of the building, the whole while Drew regaled her with how the rest of his school day had gone.

Once in the car though, Aasha gently paused him after he buckled himself into his booster seat. "Drew, sweetie, can I ask you something?" she asked, pulling out and heading towards Maddie's home, less than three miles from the Hacienda.

"Yes Aasha?" Drew asked, digging into his backpack to get his reading assignment book.

"Did the teachers, or any other students say anything to you after you helped that little boy?" Aasha asked, pulling her little Fiat into traffic carefully. "Did any of them call you any names?"

"No Aasha, the teacher called the office and Mrs. Winston took me to the nurse." Drew said, puzzled at her. Why were grownups always asking him questions like that? They were so weird. "Can we get Big Belly Burger?"

"There's not a Big Belly Burger here Drew." Aasha said, for what had to be the hundredth time since she'd started minding him. "We can get a sandwich at the deli if you'd like."

"Okay Aasha." Drew said, thumbing through his book. "I love you."

"Oh goodness, I love you too Drew." Aasha replied, coloring brightly at that. She was firmly convinced children possessed the greatest honesty. "Oh my, do you think my friends could get along without me though?" she asked, glancing at her phone when she'd stopped at a red light.

"What does that mean?" Drew asked, leaning forward in his booster seat.

"They're fighting, and they shouldn't be, because they love each other and it's silly to fight." Aasha said, reading the intense frustration in Barbara's text by her wording. "Trust me Drew, it's always silly to fight with people that you love."

"Yeah, that is pretty silly." Drew said with a giggle. "Why are they fighting for?"

"Oh, just grownups being stubborn. I'll give you some advice Drew, being stubborn can be important sometimes, but it seems like people choose the worst time for it." Aasha said, loving the little fellow's company.

"Maddie says I'm stubborn sometimes, and that I get it honest." Drew said, tracing the pictures in his book with his fingertip while they rode along. "I don't know why though. Do you know?"

"I don't know either Drew. Maybe you should ask her. Goodness, that's her now. I'm very popular today." Aasha said, seeing the text on her screen. She hated looking at her phone at all while driving, but given the nature of some of her texts, she'd turned off the driving feature while she'd been sitting with Drew.

"Yay! She's home. Are we going to pick her up?" Drew asked, clapping his hands and, sadly, also dropping his book in the floor of the car. "I want to go pick her up. Can we go please?"

"She's already home sweetie. We'll bring her a sandwich though, how does that sound?" 

* * *

"Maddie!" Drew squealed, rushing towards her at the same speed and with the same enthusiasm he always greeted her, wrapping her up in a massive hug the moment he stepped in the door to see her standing there. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too sweetheart." Maddie said, kissing Drew on the cheek. "Were you good for Aasha?" she asked, despite the regular texts she'd been receiving telling her exactly that. It was important to ask.

"Yeah, except at school today, I think I got in trouble." Drew said with a sad frown on his face, the look threatening to break Maddie's heart from the first second. She knelt down and brushed his hair from his eyes, smiling at him.

"How about you take our food to the kitchen and set the table out for us, so Aasha can tell me what happened, okay? I bet you're not in trouble at all." Maddie said, kissing him again. She'd missed him something awful the entire weekend, a sign, she assumed; that she was maturing. "So talk to me chick." She added, glancing up at Aasha, who'd handed the bag of food to Drew and smiled as he scurried off.

"As far as any of us would be concerned, he did the right thing Mads." Aasha said, walking into the living room with her. "He picked up a fallen bookcase that had pinned a student, and tossed it aside. He very likely ensured that the little boy wasn't suffocated under the weight."

"But, he did something that the gym teacher probably couldn't do, yeah. I guess it's time to home school him, and hope we don't have to move again." Maddie said sadly, her expression glum. "I don't want to fuck his life up though Ash, I just, I don't know. You have any ideas?"

"Not a one, but it's not like we don't have people who can help us. Drew isn't the first child to exhibit powers before they're old enough to grasp the depth of what they're doing, I can speak to that from firsthand experience, and I was thirteen." Aasha said, sitting next to Maddie and putting her small arm around her.

"How'd you do it?" Maddie asked, turning to look her friend in the face, the worry for her son etched so deeply that Greek masters would be pressed to duplicate it.

"John Constantine, so no help to Drew. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Kent? Superman said he had his powers from the minute he was on Earth, and he was very little, smaller than Drew." Aasha suggested, hoping she wasn't volunteering Superman's parents for something they didn't have the time or energy for.

"I suppose I could send Supes an email and ask him. Ash, honey, was it a bad idea to try this? He still doesn't call me mom, I'm always hyper-paranoid I'm going to get called out when we're out doing something, or he's going to show out, so we barely do anything outside of the house." Maddie said, detesting the vulnerability she was showing.

"No Mads, not at all. You just can't give up, okay? Whatever you do, don't give up. You've only had him to yourself for what? Six months or so? I can't imagine the adjustment period for something like this is that short." Aasha said, squeezing Maddie harder.

"Thanks chick. I uh, I love you, you know that? Not like, y'know, Babs loves you, but I do. I appreciate you so much." Maddie said, squeezing Aasha in return.

"Aasha, Maddie, I put the food out and got us juice boxes, but I couldn't get the straws in." Drew said, and then stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, it's a family hug!" he said, forgetting his juice box woes and scrambling to the couch to hop up on the women's laps to love on them too.

"Mads, you too." Aasha whispered while Drew snuggled on them. 

* * *

After Maddie had put Drew to bed, and taken herself a nice long shower, she sat down on the sofa and opened her QBook. Taking in a deep breath, she opened the built-in video messenger, and set her status to Discoverable. For several long moments, there was nothing, just a video of her in the corner of the screen, showing her worry in full 4K high definition. Then, the pleasant chiming that a video call was being connected met her ears.

"Clark, is this working?" An elderly woman said, glancing off to the side. "Oh goodness, I suppose it is. Never mind Clark, you go ahead and finish your food. Hello young lady." The woman, presumably Martha Kent, said to Maddie, who couldn't help but smile at seeing Superman being spoken to like that.

"Hello Mrs. Kent. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. I don't really have anyone else to turn to." Maddie said quietly. "I just, I don't know what to do."

"Oh honey, don't you worry. Clark was a handful growing up. If we could help guide him right, I'm sure your little fella won't be any trouble at all." Mrs. Kent replied. "Now, tell us what happened please." She said, and scooted over so a kindly older man could join her at what had to be the kitchen table.

"He saved a kid's life, but he did it in full view of everyone in his class." Maddie said, tilting her screen and showing better posture, and not sure why she felt the need to. "They sent him to the school nurse."

"Well, it's harder now that everyone has the whole internet in their pockets, but we used to say it was adrenaline, of course, he also had a lot of farm chores too, so that helped." Martha said sweetly, though it was clear how she felt about smartphones by the way she sounded when she mentioned them.

"Yes ma'am, that's kind of my problem. He's a smart little boy, but he's not the most physically active. It makes it harder to explain him being so much stronger than the other children in his grade." Maddie said; the feeling that she wasn't good enough to talk to the saint of a woman Clark called mom crawling into her chest.

"Well, I suppose you tell them that he figured out how to move it easier. Before I forget, his spring break should be coming up next month or April. Why don't you and he come up to Smallville for the week? This old farm has seen plenty of superpowered kids grow up here after all." Martha said sweetly. "Maybe if your summer isn't planned too. I could stand a little one or two to play with."

That last bit was aimed off screen, most certainly to Big Blue himself. "That sounds lovely ma'am." Maddie said shyly, the sudden kind offer overwhelming her a little.


	13. Chapter 13 A Family Visit

April 8th  
Alamogordo, New Mexico  
2257 CST  
Eleven months after the quake

"Is this a thing I do now?" Deke asked, in the guise of Mustang, as he hovered a couple thousand feet in the air over the New Mexican desert, somewhere in the couple hundred mile stretch between the Air Force base and Roswell. "Just catching random shit that falls from the sky?"

"Mustang, we're on the League channel now." Fractal replied from Holloman Air Force Base, watching the monitors which showed him the unidentified object hurtling towards the planet, and the IFF signal that pointed out Deke's location. "Please refrain from complaining quite so much. Also, you got the call because you've done it before, so you have experience."

"Superman's bound to have caught more stuff than me, he's been operating for almost 20 years now." Deke argued, though he reined himself in and kept his eyes sharp in the direction the object was heading. It had gotten picked up far more suddenly than the Russian meteorite, which had meant he got the call, while comfortably in bed with Babs and Ash, celebrating his 24th birthday a little early, and not at all asleep.

"He's currently occupied at the moment, as is Martian Manhunter and Captain Atom. The object should be coming into view soon too." Kris replied, shaking his head. He leaned over the shoulder of the Air Force lieutenant, who tapped the screen with his pen to illustrate where things were happening.

"The numbers project the object will land within about a hundred miles of here. Given its size, we're not expecting a lot of damage, but it's hard telling what's going to happen. Thanks for showing up for this." The lieutenant said, at a loss for what to do next. His job consisted of radar operator for air traffic control, not tracking meteorites.

"We're happy to help of course." Kris replied, wishing he could just send his swarm into the room and give them a quick upgrade, but knowing something like that just could not be permitted left him staring at a screen too. "Though I think hearing him complain is suffering enough."

"I heard that. I've got eyes on though, sending the feed." Deke said, triggering his tech glasses. Immediately, Kris could sense the wireless signal, and made a quick gesture, throwing the feed up on a blank screen.

What they saw was an object, mostly round-ish, hurtling towards Earth far faster than safety would dictate. Like Russia, Deke tossed his hands out, more a somatic focus than anything, wrapped his telekinetic grip around the object, and began carefully pushing back on it.

"Hey, you seeing this?" A Tech Sergeant pointed out, as she walked past the screen to relieve the person currently working her usual station. "That looks like a ship."

"I think you're right." Fractal said, dashing over to the screen to better observe. "Too much glare from the heat of re-entry, but the lines are symmetric and it appears to be bleeding heat off much faster. Mustang, I'm taking over your glasses, I need to see something." He said, that last bit patient and calm so as not to disrupt his teammate.

"Do it." Deke replied, still just pushing backwards, adding just a hair more effort every second or two, making the deceleration safe and gradual. He'd learned his lesson in Russia, and didn't want this one breaking up on him.

"Wow." He added, when the faint green of the night sky turned into vivid hues of purples and blues, as well as white, yellow, and orange from the object. Kris had wanted the thermographic option apparently.

"Wow is correct. That object is bleeding heat far faster than it should be, and maintaining integrity as well." Fractal said, absently taking a seat to observe as closely as possible. "I'm coming to you, with a helicopter in tow." He added, coming right back up out of that seat when he saw the object's shape more clearly. With a mental command, the attaché case by his feet fell apart suddenly, spilling to the ground in a puddle, which Kris stepped into. Immediately, it crawled up his body before forming into his shiny new power armor.

The effect on the Air Force personnel was exactly what Fractal was looking for too. They ranged from disbelieving to outright amazed at the rather abrupt change from scrawny dude in 'spandex' to the fully armored superhero. "Might want to scramble that chopper." He said as his suit's visor, and the symmetrical web of reinforcement lit up brightly in the same color shifting pattern of nebulous blues, reds, and purples.

With no fanfare at all, Fractal strode through the radar station and out the door. He uplinked his IFF system to the air base, to prevent being shot at, and launched himself into the air. Not quite as fast as his teammate currently in the air, his power armor was still capable of some impressive speed, which he used to steer himself towards the (hopefully) controlled descent of the spacecraft. The thought that an alien life form's first contact with Earthlings would be two reservist Justice Leaguers who'd never done this before sent a chill up his spine. 

* * *

The object, roughly the size of your average sedan, came to rest gently on the sandy ground of the desert. Landing several feet away, Deke wiped the sweat from his brow, and frowned at the persistent ache in his body, still not fully healed up yet, and still not a fan of it. "Yeah, it's a spaceship bro." he called out, cycling his glasses through a few options before going back to low-light.

Behind him, between the object and the Air Force, Fractal used an armored hand to pause the less than confident personnel that had arrived by chopper. "Superman is an alien, so are the Martians on the League, the name isn't misdirection there." He said casually in an electronically modulated baritone, trying to reassure the airmen, though Kris felt plenty nervous too. Darkseid was also an alien, as was Mongol, the Reach, the Kroloteans, and Lobo.

That attempt to calm didn't help much when the hatch of the craft popped open with a sudden and dramatic hiss. There would have been gunfire if not for one quick thinking NCO reminding his people to hold fire too.

Up close, Deke waited, his synapse lubricated and his inertial shielding dialed up to full. When the sand and the smoke cleared though, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. "Y'all, it's a girl." He said, pointedly looking her straight in the eyes, as she was currently naked, and looked _maybe_ fifteen tops, if Deke was being generous.

Stepping up next to his teammate, Kris saw a fair haired young lady who seemed wholly unconcerned that she was bare naked and had just emerged from a spaceship. Yes, that was most certainly a girl, and a pretty one if he was being perfectly objective. Long blonde hair, slender of build, but completely unblemished and possessing perfectly symmetrical features, she'd certainly turn heads wherever she went. Provided they could get her dressed at any rate, as turning heads would be a guarantee otherwise.

"Uotol maeel verind mal alus ni?" The young lady asked, her speech rapid but her tone calm and warm enough. Her request surprised the hell out of Deke, who should have expected her to be capable of communication, but hadn't properly prepared himself at all for first contact. He really did _not_ need to be the first Earthling she'd meet. That'd go over well at some point. 'Hello traveler, how did you arrive by Earth?' they'd say, that ubiquitous _they_. 'I arrived by ship, where I was greeted by a dumbass cowboy with blue balls.' She'd reply, and how messed up would that be?

"Uhm, hi." He said, and tapped himself on the chest. "Mustang." He added, and repeated the tapping and introduction. She paused and blinked, looking at him like someone might look at a dog. Not that he felt much more evolved than that at that point. He was resorting to caveman speech, specifically avoiding touching her thoughts. Martians were psychic after all, and more than capable of detecting even the most well-meaning of intrusions.

"Mus-Tang?" She replied, pointing towards him. When he nodded and smiled, his behavior over exaggeratingly positive, she touched herself on the chest. "Kara Zor-El. Limna alus ni? Zaxma alus ni Kal-El?"

"Uhm, welcome to Earth?" Deke said, completely at a loss. He could tell she was looking for someone, that much transcended language, and she was thinking plenty loud. In an effort to do something, he carefully reached into his coat and withdrew a Mylar survival blanket to preserve the young lady's dignity. She looked at it strangely when he unwrapped it, but when he pantomimed putting one around his shoulders, and then tugging at his own coat, she immediately grasped the concept and wrapped herself up in it.

"Okay, cool." Deke said, looking around for some kind of clues for Fractal's translation software to pick up on. "Bro, I need something here, I can't understand her and this game of charades is getting us nowhere." He said to an equally stymied Fractal.

"I can take it from here." Came a voice from above. Looking up, Big Blue himself was descending slowly. The blonde girl took one look at him and nearly squealed before leaping the thirty feet into the air to wrap him up in a hug. "Kara Zor-El, vax rota Kal-El." He said, hugging her back, with a peculiar look on his face.

"Hey uh, Supes, what gives here?" Deke asked, as much for himself as for Kris, who he could feel internally raving at the situation and being stuck devoting half of his attention with the airmen back by the helo. This was definitely not the way his night was supposed to go.

"It turns out I was wrong about my life." Superman said, coming fully to the ground with the blonde girl. "This is my cousin, Kara."

"Cousin?" Kris asked in a surprised tone. "I suppose you _were_ wrong about a few things. Would one of you airmen be willing to donate your ACU top for this young lady?" he added, turning to ask that question of the much calmer airmen. Of course they'd relax when Superman showed up.

One of them, a rather massive fellow who looked like he'd be more at home in a professional wrestling ring, immediately peeled the rank and name tape off of his uniform jacket before walking up slowly, offering the garment with an extended hand, as his eyes were currently glued to the ground.

"Thank you." Kris replied, and then passed it up towards Superman and Kara, who were currently rattling away in Kryptonian. With her there, it was clear his command of the language was less than remarkable. Not that it should be, it wasn't like he had anyone to speak it with.

"Thank you!" Superman called out with a wave, and wrapped Kara up in the jacket, more than long enough to cover everything without a bit of concern.

"I'm taking her to the Fortress, if you'd be willing to make the report to the Watchtower, I'd consider it a personal favor." Superman said earnestly.

"I got you. Fractal, you'll wanna handle the scientists with this, right?" Deke asked, glad this particular alien arrival was a pleasant one.

"Yes, I speak their language. Superman, will you be taking her ship as well?" Kris asked, gesturing towards the vessel. Much like the pictures he'd seen of the ship which had delivered Superman to Earth as a baby, it was small, but seemed like it would fit someone bigger than an infant.

"I will, and Mustang, if you wouldn't mind telling Batgirl I'd like to talk to her in a few days, I'd appreciate that as well." Superman said, before helping Kara back into her ship, picking it up, and taking off.

"Well that was just weird bro." Deke said, scratching his head. "Ten bucks says _that's_ going to be a conversation for the ages. I mean, did you see how messed up he looked?"

"He did seem off put, and for good reason. The fact that he asked someone to handle one of his responsibilities speaks a lot about it too. He's never put his duties off before." Kris replied thoughtfully. "Well, here comes the Air Force, let's put our game faces on."

April 9th  
Greenup, Kentucky  
0235 EST  
Eleven months after the quake

"Well you're up late." Deke said in greeting to the two beautiful women on the couch in his (their?) living room. "I said you didn't have to wait on me you know."

Barbara watched him hang his coat on the hook by the back door, and when he turned around, she showed him the tip of her tongue. "We didn't." she said saucily. "But if you're not too tired, we saved a little for you, birthday boy."

"I could be convinced." Deke replied, slipping out of his boots and setting them next to the wall dividing the kitchen and living room, before taking a good long minute to observe the women in his extremely charmed life. Babs was sitting just inside the corner of the sectional, lounging comfortably in one of his tee shirts, while Aasha lay curled up against Barbara, head in her lap, but with an alert, bright look on her face "You heard what happened though, right?"

"Heard something major fell out of the sky, but we were busy. Care to regale us with tales of your thrilling heroics?" Barbara said with a smile and a pat of the cushion beside her. She, of course, got Kris' report, he'd been sending her everything on her boy so she had something to show him when things got him down, but she wanted to hear him say it.

Not having to be asked twice, Deke stepped that way and took a seat. "Superman's got a living, teenaged cousin, and she just arrived." He said, waiting to see their reactions, and they did not disappoint, as Aasha sat straight up, and Barbara gave him an almost suspicious look, like she expected him to be pranking them.

"No, that did not happen." Aasha said. "He said his planet was destroyed, that he was the last of his people."

"Yeah, he did, and I once said there's no way I'd be lucky enough to get two hot women in bed, but here I am. He wanted me to tell you, Babs; that he'd like to talk to you. I had the feeling he was worried about making sure she had a positive female role model in her life, cause it's not like he can send her back home if she gets out of hand." Deke said, to which Barbara nodded, her wheels turning and her processor, well, processing.

"I'd be happy to talk to him, and I'd be happy to help with her if that's what he wants. Earth is a tough place even if you're born here." She said, brushing her beautiful fiery red hair out with her fingertips. "In fact, I was going to meet with Mads tomorrow about finalizing our date, venue, and everything else she's been hounding me about. I can call Big Blue once we're done. Would either of you be willing to give me some backup?"

"I've got to work babe." Deke said with a frown, followed by a yawn. "And apparently a raincheck on the festivities, damn it all to hell. "

"Oh we took video love. Who do you think we are?" Aasha said, rising up from Barbara's lap to steal a kiss off of his nose before turning to her girlfriend. "And of course I'll give you some backup tomorrow. The gallery won't reopen for another two months after all."


	14. Chapter 14 A Night of Recognition

April 30th  
Metropolis  
1900 EST  
Eleven months after the quake

"I don't want to be here." Barbara murmured to Aasha. Both of the women were dressed to the nines amidst the elite of Gotham's sister city. "With the Arkham riots, I need to be home." She turned out of the way to allow another tuxedoed trust-fund baby to push past her to get into the Daily Planet's penthouse event floor.

"Calm down love." Aasha said gently, patting her lover's arm. "Batman said he's got things covered, and that he needed you here in his stead. It's not every day someone gets their fifth Pulitzer prize. Besides, Lois Lane is a delightful woman when she's not working. So I've been told."

"To be fair, I'm the one that told her." The two women heard. Sparing a glance, they saw the Daily Planet's own Clark Kent strolling towards them, his arms full of snacks and drinks and a camera, leaving him looking bumbling and irresponsible, just the way he liked it. "Thank you for coming."

"Artemis, Helena, and Bette are over at the drink station. I'm not sure who's idea the open bar was, but it wasn't a good one." Barbara said wryly, still feeling exceptionally tense.

"Well, the Chief spares no expense when one of his own gets honored. Could I maybe interest one of you in a drink, maybe some of these little meatballs?" Clark offered, hoping to get his load lightened. Aasha giggled and took one of the champagne glasses and a small plate of cheese from his hands, and watched Barbara do similar. "Thank you, ladies. So, speaking of ladies, by the way, could I ask you all for a favor?"

"Of course." Barbara replied, taking a small sip of her champagne. She couldn't crack skulls in Gotham, so having something productive was better than nothing. "What did you need?"

"Today's the first day Kara's felt confident enough to come out, but I'd promised Conner six weeks ago that we'd get some more training done up north this weekend. Could you show her a fun evening?" Clark asked, the annoyance of having two commitments that he couldn't handle simultaneously showing clearly on his face.

"We were heading back into Gotham after this, is that the kind of fun evening you were talking about?" Barbara said, hoping this wasn't going to keep her from her hometown. It still needed a _lot_ of help, and the riot wasn't helping. There were plenty of mundane criminals that would take serious advantage of the situation, and Batman and Robin would be dealing with Arkham for the rest of the night and probably into the morning. Gotham needed them, badly. Having a Kryptonian backing them up would make the work go a lot faster, _and_ safer.

"I don't think she's ready for that, and you know _his_ opinion on having superpowered people working his city." Clark replied. He knew Bruce better than anyone, including the rest of the Bat-Family. "Speaking of, where's your other half this evening?"

Aasha had to catch herself from saying she was right there, something Barbara caught with a tiny smirk. "Working. He's got his clinicals until our graduation, which might make for a very good story, after the earthquake and all." Barbara said, planting the idea. He'd never admit it, but her boy was a huge Superman fan, and possibly getting mentioned in a story written by the man himself would be a milestone event for him.

"I see where you're going with this." Clark said. "I think it'd make an excellent story, I agree. Oh, Kara's coming up. I can hear her complaining." He added a bit sourly.

"Teenage girls aren't easy to handle." Aasha said, patting the veritable deity on Earth on his arm. "Trust me, we're a handful at that age, even the sweetest of us."

"She's worth it." Clark said, and it didn't even sound like he was trying to convince himself. "I have no other family left, so making sure she's comfortable and happy is the least I can do for her."

Barbara smiled gently at his words. The man was a shining example even when he was hiding out as a mild-mannered reporter, complete with a mustard stain on his tie. "Okay, the Birds will keep her company for the evening, but if Gotham gets too hot to handle, it might be a short night. Deal?"

"I couldn't ask for more than that. Thank you ladies." Clark said, and turned to the elevator, a proud smile on his face. When the doors opened, that smile faded somewhat, given who stepped out. Before he'd left the apartment, she'd selected a black cocktail dress that was perfectly age-appropriate for a fifteen year old girl, but somewhere along the way, the hem had climbed several inches above her knee, and the neckline had wandered lower.

The other Birds, seeing Barbara's gesture, made their way over. Once the lot were gathered, Clark gave some very uncomfortable introductions. "Ladies, this is my cousin Kara. Kara, this is Barbara, Aasha, Bette, Helena, and Artemis. They're friends of mine and they were nice enough to keep you company after I have to take off."

"Thank you Ka… Clark." Kara replied. "I can take care of myself though, I don't need chaperones."

"Oh sweetie, whatever gave you the impression we were here to chaperone?" Helena said with a twinkle of mischief in her eye. Fifteen wasn't exactly a distant memory for her yet, and having some friends willing to indulge her wild side had been a lifesaver. "How about we let the nice reporter get back to cleaning that stain off of his tie?"

Barbara and Artemis shared a look, the one that spoke of serious trouble brewing on the horizon.

April 30th  
Flatwoods Kentucky  
2105 EST  
Eleven months after the quake

Deke exhaled a long, slow breath to join with the spring breeze of his Kentucky home. On the roof of the hospital he was doing his clinical work in, fresh off of his fourth twenty four hour in a row, he paused, trying to gather himself before taking off and flying home, just long enough to change, before flying into Metropolis to surprise his beautiful roommates.

Of course, the feeling of those multiple shifts in a row, broken up only by naps and meals, was working a number on him. "Oh I'll be glad when this is over." He mumbled, orienting himself so he could lift off into the sky.

He was paused again at his phone chiming. Sparing it a glance, he saw it was a text from Babs, saying she, Ash, and the Birds, would be keeping Kara company for a few hours. He replied with his usual be safe, have fun, and love you message, but noticed he had an email notification too, so with a sigh, he leaned against the roof access wall and opened it.

After a minute's worth of reading, it was all he could do not to jump in the air, whooping with joy. He channeled that into doing exactly what he'd been talking himself into not doing, and took off to his house, barely under the speed of sound.

April 30th  
Metropolis  
2130 EST  
Eleven months after the quake

"So, then she says 'I don't care what you're trying to threaten me with, so long as you're wearing pants when you do it!'" Artemis said with a snicker, drawing a rather tart glare from Barbara for her retelling of the day the Batgirl got the drop on Icicle Junior. It had _not_ been a great day when she'd caught up to him in an illegal bathhouse in Gotham's Chinatown.

"So, he was naked, that's the takeaway?" Kara asked with a cocked eyebrow as they strolled away from the Daily Planet building and towards the nightlife of Metropolis. "Are they all that… lewd?" she asked, simultaneously curious, and more than a little disgusted at the same time.

"No, not all of them." Helena said, saying to hell with the heels and pulling them off while leaning against a lamppost. She didn't need the support in the slightest, but when a girl doesn't have superpowers, in a city where Superman usually patrolled the skies, it paid not to advertise. "There are some legit gentleman villains out there. Riddler's a goofy guy, but he's no creep."

"Luthor." Artemis piped in. "Call him every terrible name in the book, because he deserves it, but he's no creep, and he had plenty of opportunity, plenty of times. Ra's Al'ghul too. He's about as gentlemanly as they come."

"That's reassuring." Kara said, giving a glance to Aasha, who'd largely been quiet. "So, are you okay?" she asked, nudging the small woman gently after falling back a step or two.

"I am." Aasha said sweetly. "Just missing someone is all. I've already told all my good stories, and they work in Gotham, where I'm not welcome to do what I do best. Usually I've got a certain somebody I can snuggle into when it comes to this part of the evening."

"I'd make a crude joke, but current company." Artemis quipped, joining Helena in the shoe removal. She hated heels more than life itself, and wearing them once a year _maybe_ , meant she was in no way accustomed to it.

"Are you seriously trying to rile me up Artemis?" Barbara asked with a half-frown. "Because it's working."

"Look, call me old-fashioned, but I never thought I'd get a chance to hang out with a poly relationship, can you blame me for trying to diffuse the tension of my ignorance with piss-poor jokes in the worst of taste?" Artemis replied with a frown of her own. She wasn't the most keen on not knowing something, and admitting it left a horrible taste in her mouth no matter the subject.

"Oh, holy crap." Helena said, turning to get a good look at Aasha when everything clicked into place for her. "You're ShortOrderSub, aren't you?"

"This is going to get weird." Bette said to Kara, and gestured towards a street vendor. "I think gelato's in order. It's better than the conversation you probably don't want to hear."

"I understand consensual polyamory better than you think. On Krypton, it wasn't uncommon for a man or woman to have multiple domestic partners. My parents weren't into it, but our neighbor had three husbands. Of course, this sounds like something a lot less common here, so maybe that gelato would be a wonderful idea." Kara said with a small grin. Ice cream didn't survive a visit from Lois.

Watching them walk away towards the vendor, Helena felt emboldened. "You're her. I've met you a handful of times, and I never thought I'd actually talk to you face to face. This is a big deal." She said to Aasha, who colored nicely and stepped in tighter to Barbara, who seemed perfectly puzzled.

"Goodness, thank you Helena. I assume you're RichSwitchBitch then?" Aasha asked, going from lonely to overwhelmed with attention and not entirely certain how to feel about it.

"You guessed it. So, Red, your girl here, she and I had been chatting for almost two years on a Gotham BDSM forum. I'm going to lead off by saying you and your mister have been treating her beautifully, so good on you. Secondly, your girl's a genius." Helena said with a wink.

"Well that's good to know. Since Bette's got Kara occupied with gelato, do you mind telling me how she's a genius? I mean, I've known it since I met her, but who doesn't like hearing it?" Barbara said, giving her girlfriend a squeeze and a smile.

"She wrote this whole thing about how it's important for a sub to own their doms, wound up becoming a major link for new people interested in the lifestyle. Then she writes these really good journals about, well, y'know. And before you get worried, no names. She calls you Sunset and calls him Poet. They're brilliant, I can't even stress enough how helpful they are." Helena said with a bit of fangirl in her voice.

"I knew you had it in you." Barbara said with a warm smile. "And I have to say, I approve of the nicknames."

"Well, it took me ages to think of anything good, so I'm glad you like them." Aasha said bashfully. This wasn't something she was interested in being recognized for, preferring to just say what she had to say, and hoping it'd be useful. "You're the one that inspired me, and you know exactly why."

"See, they're so cute." Artemis said, nudging Helena. "Did you hear that?" she added without missing a beat.

"Yeah, what was that?" Helena asked, turning to look behind her. Stepping from an empty side-street, they were being approached. "Oh, hey big man!" she said with a wave once the third of the triumvirate stepped out into the light, overdressed now that they'd left the award party at the Planet.

With a massive yawn, Deke waved back, feeling rather out of place in the girl's outing, and hoping he wasn't interrupting. His news was huge though, and needed shared sooner than later. "Ladies." He said, tipping an imaginary hat, before giving voice to his concern. "I'm not interrupting or anything, am I?" he drawled.

"No, we didn't hang a 'No Boys Allowed' sign on the door. You just get off work?" Artemis asked, sidestepping so Barbara could get a kiss from him, followed by a huggy Ash. He grinned at her and returned some very innocent affection with a nod.

"Yeah, four twenty fours in a row. I'll sleep until Monday morning, then get two days to do nothing whatsoever. That's, of course, considering I'll be able to sleep. Y'all wanna keep the party going for a little while longer?" He asked, flashing an uncharacteristic wide grin.

"What do you know that you're not telling us Cowboy?" Barbara asked, feeling the elation pouring off of him in tidal waves. "It's gotta be something good, and I for one would _love_ to know what it is."

"STAR Labs emailed me this morning. They're setting up a full Xeno clinic in Metropolis, and they've already offered me an office and staff once I graduate. Full private practice with all of their resources at my disposal!" He said, still giving a cheesy grin.

"Oh that's wonderful news Love!" Aasha said, snuggling into him. "Yes, let's absolutely keep the party going longer, shall we?"

"What kind of party are we talking about here?" Bette asked, walking up with Kara, both of their hands loaded up with gelato cones. "Because we promised not to get our guest in trouble, and I'm not so keen on getting on her cousin's bad side."

"Well, there's plenty to uh, there's plenty to do." Aasha said, losing track of herself for a minute. "Where are we, in Metropolis exactly?"

"Corner of Siegel and Shuster, dead center of the city." Kara replied, pointing towards the large statue of Superman that Kal-El hated _so_ very much. "What's got you looking so puzzled?"

"I thought I saw something, no matter. Let's go celebrate, shall we then?" Aasha said, putting her sunshine and cheer back on in full force. For a minute, amidst the high rises, LED's and neon, she could have sworn she'd seen a small store nestled between the buildings. A store with a single eye and a crystal ball for a sign. A store, conveniently enough, that wasn't there.


	15. Chapter 15 An Impossible Space

**AN** : Giving you an extra chapter, since I was laid up on muscle relaxers and morphine yesterday. I know that's no excuse, but I feel bad. I should mention, this might be my favorite chapter of this entire book, so please, hit a fella up with some reviews. Also, I think I forgot on chapter one, but all the same, I only own the original characters, but I'm not making money off of any of this. Please don't sue me DC/WB, plznthnx!

* * *

May 1st  
Metropolis  
1130 EST  
Twelve months after the quake

The bell jingled softly when the visitor opened the door, as bells do. The proprietor put her glass of wine and the greasy cheesesteak sandwich that accompanied it down to greet her newest client. "It's too early for you to be awake the morning of the first of May. Who's losing their touch? The redhead or the mentalist?"

"I beg your pardon." Aasha said defiantly, not even seeing the owner of the voice who'd called out the prowess of her lovers. She'd barely had the time to take in the things she was seeing in the store that shouldn't exist. It was a second later, when the owner of that voice stood up, that Aasha could see the rather striking gypsy looking woman with the bandages over her eyes, framed by accouterments of magic that she was only just now learning even existed.

"Sorry, poor manners, please, come in." The gypsy woman said, gesturing towards Aasha to join her. "I expected you a little earlier, so maybe I'm losing _my_ touch. Your lunch is cold."

"You've got lunch for me, and we've never properly met. Clearly a seer." Aasha said, moving her way around a rack of unicorn horns carefully, and slipping between two shelves loaded with high ceremonial tools.

"Madame Xanadu at your service, but Nimue will suffice. I have to say, this is like Zepplin showing up to play a high school talent show. What brings a goddess to my humble store?" The gypsy woman said, not taking a seat yet.

"I wish people would quit calling me that." Aasha mumbled. "I'm just a girl with a gift."

"Yeah, and LeBron's halfway decent on the court. You really don't know, do you?" Nimue said, approaching Aasha and putting her hands on her shoulders, smoothing her Ghost t-shirt out and appearing to take a good long look at her. "I'll be honest, you're shorter than usual, but my, if you aren't as pretty as they come."

"You're making it very clear that I really don't know a lot of things." Aasha said, suddenly feeling like she was being looked over by an aunt who hadn't seen her in several years. The appraisal was kind though, and Nimue's hands weren't uncomfortable or creepy. "I just came here because I thought I saw your shop last night."

"Oh, that's my fault, sorry." Nimue said, sitting down and gesturing towards the chair opposite her, a crystal ball sitting between them. "I had an incubus over for the holiday, had my focus distracted. I'm pretty sure I got your order correct."

Unwrapping the small sandwich, Aasha saw a kid's size Italian sub, extra tomatoes and no peppers; exactly what she would have ordered. "And my lovers aren't losing their touch, we just didn't have the time to get really into it, since it's clear you know enough about that too."

"A bit tart dear, no reason to be defensive. Best way to break the ice is hinting at a secret after all. Now, you're here because apparently, you _need_ to be here. What's a bother to an Earth goddess anyway? You've got everything you need after all. Lovers, a home, a hearth even, a domain, that _perfectly_ proportioned bustline, and a head of hair I've sacrificed goats to Trigon to come even halfway close to getting." Nimue asked casually. "Don't judge me on that last bit, I was young."

"Okay, please, stop calling me a goddess. I don't think it's teasing any longer but I'm still not comfortable with it. A proper goddess wouldn't have cooked herself off." Aasha argued, still not entirely certain she was willing to take a bite of the sandwich that was waiting on her.

"But, my dear, you _are_ a goddess. You think your parents were just trying to conceive a magically superior child? They were, of course, but you're so much more than that. I can prove it too, if you're up to it." Nimue argued, certainly noticing she hadn't taken so much as a nibble.

"Okay, fine, if you'll stop referring to me as a deity, I'll do it." Aasha said, and watched as her hostess made a few gestures, the effects of which caused a rather large tome to fly towards her, flapping its pages like a bird's wings, before alighting in front of her and flipping deliberately open to a page.

Nimue turned the book to face Aasha, gently shoving the crystal ball out of the way to make room. With a tap of her finger, a series of words in an ancient script lit up red, standing out against the old walnut black ink the rest of the book was written in. "There, incant this spell." She said, giving Aasha a patient look.

"What is this? Welsh?" Aasha said with a frown. There had to have been about twelve words in the highlighted text, and only about six consonants, or so it seemed.

"Irish actually. Get to it." Nimue said, sipping her wine. "Give it a go, you don't have to know what you're saying."

"Story of my life." Aasha murmured before taking another good look at the text in front of her. She didn't speak a lick of Gaelic, really, she spoke both British and American English, a smattering of the German Kris had tried teaching them, and a few exceptionally naughty phrases in Spanish she'd picked up for fun times. The language before her was absolutely none of that. "Oh sod it." She muttered, and just gave it hell.

Nimue sat there with a casual smirk on her face, and listened as her visitor incanted a spell she herself had penned centuries ago, in another incarnation. With ease, the words exited Aasha's mouth, before a pair of small rifts opened in front of her. "Now not so loud, they can hear you." Nimue said, referring to the subjects in those small rifts. Barbara, and Deke.

Blinking, Aasha watched as her lovers went along with their days. Deke, unsurprisingly, was asleep, while Babs was plugging away on her laptop. It made Ash curious, and the spell seemed to want to react to that, as her view shifted over Barbara's shoulder, where she could see what her redheaded lover was writing. It took a minute, but a blush erupted across her face when she saw Babs set a picture of the two of them as her new desktop. On instinct, she reached out to gently brush Barbara's hair, and it was all well and good until Babs jumped in surprise.

"He's dreaming again." Barbara muttered, smoothing her hair out. Aasha couldn't contain a giggle, but banished the spell out of reflex.

"You _do_ realize what you just did, right?" Nimue said with that smirk. Still with that sodding smirk. "Because you don't look like you do."

"I cast a spell that allowed me to… oh dear, that was a split cast, one way spatial rifting, and I did it without batting an eye." Aasha said, batting her eyes in surprise at what she'd accomplished on a whim.

"Yes, you did. Now, let's get on with why you're really here. I suppose you want to go by Aasha, so we'll go with that. Aasha, you're on a tipping point. Of all of the people I have ever counseled, and trust me when I say there were many, I've only said this to two people. You _can_ have it all. It's just a matter of what you want most, and what you're willing to do to get it. It used to be, oh don't keep making that face, you're too pretty for that. Anyway, it used to be a sorceress could get by on parlor tricks, but things have changed in the last couple of decades. Now, you've got to work for it. So, let's work it out, you and I, like old times, what is it that you want?"

"I uhm, I don't know. I'm rather happy as is." Aasha said with a shrug of her small shoulders. "I've been quite fortunate in my life of late."

"Well, I suppose the good looks and the new attitude are working for you. It's the first time I've heard you say that. You must've gotten to a good place early on, before the greed and evil of the world had time to affect you." Nimue said, and then swept another gesture, which caused her many bracelets to jingle. Instantly, some of the paintings on the wall shifted, showing several women painted in various styles reflecting history.

"See, you've never been this pretty before. I keep saying it, and I know I sound like a creep, but it's true. You reflect the world in which you're reincarnated after all." Nimue said, and then leaned forward to effectively stare at her for a minute. "Are you sure you're happy? You could have wealth, a nation, a harem of pretty boys and girls, whatever you wanted, and it wouldn't take much."

"No, I'm happy, and you're as one-track as a friend of mine." Aasha observed a bit dryly.

"Oh, the alien girl. Yeah, I don't get out much, sorry about that. How about we talk about them then? Maybe what you want isn't for you. There's the lonely alien girl, the dyslexic giant, the virgin Viking, c'mon, give a girl a hand." Nimue said, trying desperately to get the girl to open up.

"I didn't know Koa was dyslexic. That explains a lot actually." Aasha said thoughtfully. "Wait, why are you pressuring me to do so much? Frat boys that tried getting into my knickers weren't this insistent." She added, growing extremely suspicious, and happy she hadn't eaten any of the sandwich.

"More observant this time around too." Nimue muttered. "Okay, on the level then, since I can't ply you with desires, which by the way, looks terrible on a gypsy woman's resumé. You're put forth on this world for a purpose. This is your fifth incarnation, and only once before was that purpose something good. So, yeah, here I am, trying to see what you're after so I have a better grasp on how to guide you."

"What do you mean by incarnations, are those women me?" Aasha asked, pointing towards the paintings, an icy chill grasping her heart.

"They are. Each time, you weren't the nicest goddess out there. Except that one, but you insisted on not having any drawings or paintings done of you, so I can't show you that one. Each time, it's been my purpose to meet you at your tipping point and try to steer you. Your desires, after all, are the stuff of legends, so getting a handle on it early was extremely important." Nimue explained with a sigh.

"Wait, did I subconsciously force Batgirl and Mustang into something? Please tell me I didn't do that." Aasha whined plaintively, terrified that their love and affection for her was false, or worse, forced.

"Well, you did, but not by magic or divine will, you're off the hook. That was pure human charm right there. Speaking of them though, I can see there's a fair amount of energy swirling around in you that didn't originally belong to you. Nice trick, well done." Nimue commented. "No, you really do seem to be on a good path. If you feel like you're straying from it, you can find my store almost anywhere, we're out of slip with time and space in here, so it can show up anywhere it needs to be."

"Well that's good to know." Aasha said, finally mustering the courage to take a nibble off her sandwich.

"I think so. But look, there's got to be something, no matter how small. Everybody wants something after all." Nimue countered.

"I might have a couple of small thoughts." Aasha said with an arch of one delicate eyebrow.

May 1st  
Gotham City  
1305 EST  
Twelve months after the quake

"You could've slept in longer Cowboy. We had until five to see the place." She said to her very soon to be husband. She said this to him in an apartment in one of the new constructions on the new island. The most virgin ground Gotham had to offer. It was a penthouse, but in a smaller building, which sort of balanced things out so far as she was concerned. He'd been adamant about roof access, she'd been adamant about new construction, so they'd split the difference and asked to see this place.

Two standard bedrooms, a nice bathroom, and a master suite on top of it, full kitchen, dining area, wide open living room, wrap around balcony, and a full list of amenities in the building. There wasn't much better they could do. "So, we can afford this?" He asked, feeling exceptionally overwhelmed by the situation.

Barbara nodded. "We've got it in good with the building owner, and when the building itself is move-in ready, Ollie's work with our FEMA money will have been done for a couple of months, so no taxes on withdrawal. Now, this _is_ at the top end of our projected budget, but internet and television is included in utilities, and utilities are tied into payments."

"How much are we talking about here?" Deke asked, wishing they'd staged the place so he could see it furnished, but knowing he was asking for a lot. "Like, final dollar value."

"Five hundred fifty thousand over the course of thirty years. I'm being courted by three companies already, and you've got STAR Labs already hiring you, so I'm confident." Barbara said, leaning against the kitchen island, running the numbers through her head. "The interest on the mortgage is going to be absolutely lethal though. I was always extremely careful with credit cards, and I know you never had one at all."

"Let's knock two hundred off that, keep the monsters at bay." Deke replied thoughtfully, scratching his chin while he worked the math out.

"You're not selling the property in Kentucky. Cowboy there's little I will be absolutely inflexible on, but that's one of them." Barbara retorted, having already forseen he'd do something of the sort and being prepared for any of a dozen counter-arguments.

"Oh, no babe, no way. I'm going to sell that meteor iron to STAR Labs. Ingrid said it'd fetch a fair chunk, and she's been making a badass sword so I've got all I need from it. Plus, she made me promise to sell it, so what better use than a home, right?" Deke replied, strolling out of the living space and onto the balcony. "Could use the extra money to put a hot tub out here too if you feel like making the math work out."

"I'm perfectly okay with that." Barbara said, sauntering outside with him. "So, do we put our names on the place? I have to have an answer today so Bruce can inform the building manager there's a certified hold on it."

"Yeah, do that." Deke replied with an almost dreamy tone to his words. He was going places, finally. He held that for a minute, before wrapping his betrothed up in his arms. She giggled but nuzzled into him, cooing happily at the warmth of his embrace.

"You're thinking about something Cowboy." She said, her words muffled into his chest. "What is it?"

"You wanna maybe take the extra step to guarantee this place is ours? Go to the sand?" He asked, grasping her bottom firmly and giving her a bit of a lift. She squealed and giggled again before wrapping her legs around his waist.

"The agent said we had two hours, we've been here all of twenty minutes. I think that's a wonderful idea. Let's see to that." She said with a devilish look on her face. "But last night wasn't enough for you? Are you _that_ revved up lately?"

"Oh last night was fun, don't get me wrong darlin'. It's less the getting off and more the getting close. Call it a milestone event." Deke explained with a wink, and brushed her jacket off her shoulders. Not content to just be handled, Barbara pushed her weight into him, tipping him towards the floor to take charge.

"Then let's make an event of it." She said with a naughty grin.


	16. Chapter 16 Island Life

June 5th  
The North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii  
1145 HAST  
Thirteen months after the quake

"Husband, this is beautiful." Pacifica marveled, looking at the completed construction on the House Atua compound. Liho's original home, humble and inviting, had become part of a greater whole that shared the same architectural and design sensibilities. Several more buildings in that same style surrounded it, satellite locations for the rest of House Atua, which meant several cousins, aunts, uncles, and of course, the In-Laws.

"Yeah, sure is." Liho said with his perpetual grin etched across his face. "Everyone get to move in tomorrow morning. I wanted today just be you and me."

"Husband, do you seek to 'christen' our home?" Pacifica said teasingly while rubbing his arm. She certainly wasn't opposed to the idea, not by a long shot.

"I do now." Liho replied, still just looking dopey and happy with life. "Mostly wanted to just have a quiet day, but if you want make noise, who'm I to argue?"

They stood there quietly, just enjoying each other's company, for several more minutes, before they were interrupted. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's a visitor at the gate." One of the house pages said. A young fellow, no more than ten or eleven, he was dressed nattily in the close fitting garb well known among Atlantis.

"Oh? We have a visitor?" Pacifica said, turning to look at her nephew. He and his mother were the only other inhabitants here until the proper welcoming the next day. "That is unusual, is it not?"

"We got neighbors up and down the road, probably folks wantin' say hello." Liho said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and turning to head that way. "Hey Rahm, what they look like?"

"A tall, pale, surface woman with red hair and muscles." The young Atlantean said. "She seemed quite friendly, and was very patient when I asked her to wait while I alerted you."

"That sounds like Ingrid. I was not aware she would be arriving today." Pacifica said, strolling with her husband, their nephew leading them towards the front gate. They walked along the beautiful paving stone pathway, surrounded by lush vegetation on all sides, until they reached the front gate. It was something Liho hadn't been pleased with, but it was apparently necessary according to Mera and Aquaman, given their public nature.

As predicted, it was in fact Ingrid standing at the gate. Clothed as usual in a simple white dress, though cut seasonably for Hawaii, she stood there with a bright smile on her face, and a large duffel bag over her shoulder. "Hi you two!" she called out with a wave. "I brought some housewarming presents!"

"Jump the gate sistah!" Liho called out while returning her wave. She was more than capable of executing a standing high jump that would clear the twelve foot security gate. He'd seen her do it more than once.

"I'm a patient woman Liho, I can wait on the door before I get my hugs!" she called back, enjoying the warmth of the Hawaiian sunshine on her arms and shoulders. In the back of her mind, she thanked Freya again for her blessings. Sunburns weren't a thing she had to worry about any more, so she'd hoped she'd get some sun on the visit.

Rahm, with a quickness borne of youth, darted to the gate controls and flipped the switch to the first setting, opening the gate wide enough to allow a person to enter, and then turned to watch his Aunt and Uncle greet their pretty visitor.

"Welcome sistah!" Liho said once Ingrid had cleared the gate and set her bag down. He wrapped her up in a huge hug, as Liho's do, and squeezed tight, not having to worry about hurting her in the process. He dearly loved hugging the tough ones.

"Yes, welcome Ingrid. I am sorry but if we knew you were coming, arrangements could have been made. Would you like refreshment?" Pacifica offered sweetly.

"Thank you but I don't want to be a bother. I just got done a day early so I thought I'd surprise you with what I'd been working on." Ingrid replied, also hugging Pacifica and placing a kiss to either cheek on the woman.

"What you bring sistah?" Liho asked, picking up the duffel bag for her, which was weighter than he'd expected it to be. "Heavier than it look."

"Pacifica said there were twelve guards that served your house, and I had a bunch of chromium steel laying around, so I thought I'd made some weather resistant blades." Ingrid said proudly. "I'd've preferred to get their measurements to custom make them, and I'll probably wind up doing that later, but for now, I wanted a surprise."

"Consider us surprised then Ingrid." Pacifica said, taking Liho's free arm comfortably. "Though it is only Liho and myself. Rahm and his mother were to tour schools today."

"Oh, if I'm interrupting something…" Ingrid said with a bright flush. They'd been married less than a year, she should have known better than that, smacking herself in the forehead with the heel of her hand, something she'd picked up from several of the younger members of the League.

"You interrupt nothing that cannot wait Ingrid. I am honestly quite surprised that we have not had more visitors." Pacifica replied as they walked along to the guard's quarters. "In fact, the more I think of it, the more surprised I become."

"Oh, that my fault. I might have mentioned us takin' a few days before we have the big party." Liho said with a sheepish shrug. He sat the bag of swords down in the corner of the guard's living area, and scratched the back of his neck. "That is, if we get a chance. How come you not bustin' heads sistah?"

"Oh, skulls were busted." Ingrid said, patting the big guy on the arm. "I just got back from Opal City an hour before I came here, got myself in a nice little dustup with Mammoth."

"Mammoth? Nice. I always wanted take him on." Liho said, the trio walking towards the beach. "Last time he was out, Aasha tangled with him. I was jealous."

"Don't be, he's big and strong, but none too bright, it wouldn't have been a challenge." Ingrid said, stopping to look out over the water, the waves crashing beautifully against the shore. She smiled and pulled her dress over her head, letting it fall to the sand and leaving her standing in a simple, humble green one piece.

"You came prepared, huh?" Liho said, already dressed only in shorts, as was his norm.

"I even shaved my legs, with an actual razor." Ingrid replied with a wink, though truth be told she could have figured out a lot more entertaining things to do than shave her legs. "So, this is really nice, I love the architechture. Is it ancient Greek married with Japanese?"

"It is. We would have been finished with construction two months ago except for trying to agree on the design elements in a manner which would satisfy the diplomatic board. It was something of a trial. Shall we swim?" Pacifica asked, stepping into the surf with a broad smile on her face.

"Half of why I came here. Better here than any of the public beaches. I don't get hit on here." Ingrid said wryly as she stepped into water far warmer than even the Florida water she'd gotten used to, the Hawaiian Pacific was comfortable and comforting. "This water is magnificent."

"Grew up in it sistah." Liho commented happily. "I think everything happen me only really prove it." He added before sinking beneath the water.

"I can believe that." Ingrid replied, relaxing on her back in the surf. "While we're here, can I confess something?"

"Please feel free." Pacifica said, reaching behind her to remove her top before stopping. She'd been reminded several times that surfacers weren't in total agreement about how demure one should be when bathing in the ocean. Also, a random boater might stop with a camera, and she'd contended with enough paparazzi to know she didn't need that kind of publicity.

"So, I've been kind of putting off Batgirl's wedding dress. I've got all the linen I need for her, and twelve bridesmaids, but I absolutely cannot figure out what kind of style to go with for her. She said she put her faith in me, which might have been the worst thing in the world to do. Can a girl get some insight?" Ingrid said, coming back to feet and letting the tide push and pull her gently.

"Well, she my sistah too. I probably know her longest of any woman besides Mera and my mom, but I'm probably wrong guy to ask." Liho said, finally coming up from underwater with an ease that belied his massive size. "Deke said they still dunno where they gettin' hitched, got Maddie's panties in a twist."

Pacifica made a small frown at his reference to his ex-girlfriend's undergarments, but put it away for the moment. "Perhaps it would be best to ask her? I do not believe either of us could offer the correct insight."

"Kris is worthless, he wouldn't know women's clothes if they bit him on the nose. Aasha I can't trust with this because she'd just recommend something she personally liked, even if she didn't mean to. Maddie, well, she offered some ideas but I don't think Batgirl wanted _that_ much cleavage on display. I feel like I overstepped myself." Ingrid said with a frown of her own.

"Well, she accept your offer to help, she say she trust you. Do you sistah. Make it your way." Liho offered. "She ain't no bridezilla, I know her better than that."

"I would, and I almost did. I'm still new to this, a year in, and my confidence is wavering. I think I'd rather be door security at this point." Ingrid complained. "Could I possibly talk you two into showing me some dress stores in Honolulu so I can get some ideas?"

"That sounds wonderful Ingrid, I would love that. Liho, will you join us?" Pacifica asked, patting her big man on the arm.

"Yeah, we can do that. Speakin' of joinin' though, Deke and Bee graduate pretty soon. He already say he throwin' a party at his place and we got plans for it."

"I think making additional stops to prepare for such a momentous achievement is an excellent idea. Will this be more of the usual do you think?" Pacifica asked, just letting the water wash over her. "There seems to be something of a trend in our gatherings."

"Yeah, probably. I got an idea though. Ingrid, you wanna go hunt a pig next weekend?" Liho asked, his gears turning already. He'd never cooked in a lau, and it was something of a life goal of his.

"I have spears aplenty big brother." Ingrid replied.

* * *

The three of them strolled the streets of Honolulu, specifically the bustling, and expensive shopping district. Though, mercy of mercies, looks were still free. Quietly munching on a shave ice, Liho could only shake his head at the abundant amount of lavish stuff on display. The islands were supposed to be about living simply, being at one with what the islands had to offer, and enjoying that life. Not seeing who could put the biggest tv on the wall for the Super Bowl.

"You look unhappy husband." Pacifica asked as she snuck a nibble off of Liho's shave ice. "I am certain watching Ingrid window shop is not as exciting as other activities, but you did not have to come."

"Oh no, that ain't it. This ain't islands to me, yeah? This tourism and money, nothin' else. Maybe I'm more like my dad than I thought." He answered with a frown. "So, light a candle huh?"

"Husband, this is neither the time nor place for romance." Pacifica scolded, puzzled as to why he was getting aroused by feeling maudlin.

"No babe." Liho said, kissing her temple and snickering. "Why curse the darkness when you can light a candle? I learn that one from the Flash. Candles for more than special time."

"Oh? I do not believe I have another use for them personally. How do you intend to light this proverbial candle?" Pacifica asked, sparing a glance at Ingrid, who appeared to be intimidating a dress in a window with the stare she was giving it. If Pacifica were being honest with herself, if she were the dress, she'd probably be intimidated.

"I think maybe I do some work with people, teach them about the islands. There's lots that do, but they ain't got the uh, what's it called? Resources to make it happen. Maybe I support them and help out. It give me something to do when I'm not underwater or doin' the good job." Liho said thoughtfully.

"That sounds like a splendid idea. I have already received a letter from a historical society asking about the influence House Atua had with the ancient peoples. Perhaps we can 'join forces' in our work?" Pacifica said, still keeping an eye on Ingrid. It wasn't that she didn't believe the woman couldn't take care of herself, it was that she didn't believe Honolulu could handle a focused Ingrid.

"Yeah! I love that idea!" Liho said, more emphatically than he might have intended, if the looks of the people gathering around them were any indication. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and continued on much more sheepishly. "I can get ahold of the Kapu, maybe get them thinkin' more open-minded."

"I will similarly make contact with the preservation society, and we will make plans. I imagine the Kapu will enjoy learning where humans diverged from Atlantis and developed their own ways." Pacifica said eagerly. "This project will suit us well my love."

"Speaking of projects, I think I'm finally ready." Ingrid said, walking up. "I'll be heading back to the Hacienda now I think. Lots to do."

"You got rest of today sistah, besides, Pacifica still look like she wanna go shoppin' more. Might as well entertain her." Liho suggested, pleased at himself for guessing right. Pacifica gave a small, blushing smile, and stood up with him.

"Please, Ingrid. Join us. I was lamenting earlier that people seem loathe to spend time with us since we are newly married. It is not as though we live on the sand, and we still care deeply for our friends." Pacifica said earnestly. "We can have dinner and then join you in going to the Hacienda, as we also have business there as well. It is our turn after all."

"Okay, you've got me sold." Ingrid said, not even feeling totally ready to dive in just yet. She'd need a final measurement with Batgirl, and then a lecture about neither gaining, nor losing a pound until the day after their wedding. A lecture she most certainly wasn't interested in delivering. Once again, it made her needs in life seem much, _much_ more appealing. "I think I'd like something sweet."

"We are standing right here." Pacifica said with a cheeky grin. "But there is a wonderful bakery nearby. Tell me, have you had donuts before?"


	17. Chapter 17 Civil Progress and Study

June 5th  
Greenup Kentucky  
0930 EST  
Thirteen months after the quake

Deke's eyes flew open suddenly, almost violently. He spared a glance at the clock in his room and saw nine thirty, and grinned. He'd been hacking himself again, and was pleased he could dial his internal clock into waking him up, and it was accurate to the half hour, which was certainly close enough for vigilante work. Of course, he wasn't just smiling because he'd successfully hacked himself. He was also currently surrounded by two loving beauties, both of whom were curled up comfortably on him.

Monkey in the Middle was his turn last night, which put Aasha to his left, and Barbara to his right, and both of them were so important, so vital to his life, that picturing a life without one of them was nightmare, and both, pure torture. Fortunately, Babs had agreed to marry him, and having seen the depths of her very complex mind, he knew she wasn't the type to walk away. Aasha, more complicated in the relationship, was still perfectly happy and things didn't look to change, so instead of worrying, he just gently extricated himself from their tangle, and scooted himself to the foot of the bed.

"Good morning sleepyhead." He heard, before he could even pull a pair of shorts on. Giving a glance, he saw Barbara sitting up along with him with a gentle smile. "I tried waking you two hours ago, but you weren't budging, so I thought I'd catch a post-workout nap instead."

"I was up late, finishing my thesis." He said with a massive shit-eating grin. "Got it uploaded to three cloud sites, four separate flash drives, and stored in the secure server on the Watchtower, as per Black Canary's suggestion. Formatted, sourced, and ready to turn in."

"That's my boy." Barbara said proudly. "Three days to spare too. I wouldn't mind visiting my dad today if we want to take a trip to Gotham to hand in your groundbreaking work on Atlantean neonatal care in a dry environment."

Deke blinked and gave her a peculiar look. "You read it?" He asked, taken back. It was probably the most boring read in the history of boring medical papers, filled largely with the research of a small handful of Miami pediatricians and obstetricians, as well as some valuable interviews with Pacifica.

"Yep, well, more I had Quinn read it to me while I was doing bodyweight resistance exercises. Gotta confess, it's not my wheelhouse, but then again, I can't imagine _my_ doctoral thesis would be any easier on someone not in the field." She said, fully slipping out of the bed, giving Deke an eyeful. She hadn't bothered getting dressed after her shower.

"See something you like?" She teased sweetly, pulling her underwear on in quick order. When he nodded and reached out for her, she took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Not today Cowboy, I'm not feeling particularly sexy."

The physical contact told him everything he needed to know about why she'd turned him down, and he fully understood. "Gotcha. So, ice cream before or after we visit your dad?"

"Before please." A small voice mumbled from behind them. Aasha sat up and rubbed her eyes with a mighty yawn. "I'll need it after you both waking me up so early."

"It's nine thirty love." Barbara said sweetly. "You're as bad as I am for early rising, how late were you out last night?"

Another yawn escaped Aasha's full lips as she came fully out of the bed and onto her feet. "I met a coven here in town, we'd spoken for a while, and they invited me to a ritual gathering for the full moon. It was nice, getting to practice with some honest, simple witches for a change. Certainly not earthshattering work, but it never had to be." She said with a wistful smile. "Plus, they're some delightful people, and one of them can bake like the devil, I had the most wonderful cupcakes."

"Mmmm, cupcakes." Deke mumbled as he dressed himself. "That's what I want for breakfast."

"There's a bowl of eggs with ham and cheese in it, sitting in the fridge next to some bacon." Barbara said, poking her boy. "I got you taken care of."

"Thank you babe." Deke said, offering Barbara the jeans she'd laid out for herself last night. "So, we have an itinerary. Babs, you're bathed. Ash, I dunno but you don't stink or anything. Me, on the other hand, I need to shower."

"I'll join you actually. I was dancing naked in the grass for four hours last night, I could use more than a quick rinse." Aasha said, going ahead and tossing her night shirt, leaving her to stroll out of the bedroom in her panties, but not before tossing a quick look over her shoulder.

"Well, get after it Cowboy." Barbara said with a wink, deciding she was going to follow them in there. She might not be feeling in the mood to be playful, but that didn't kill her voyeuristic tendencies one bit.

June 5th  
Gotham City  
1300 EST  
Thirteen months after the quake

The trio waltzed into the fifty second precinct to what was almost appalling normality. Gotham PD were busy working, of course, but a year after the quake, the workload had dropped dramatically. It had left several hundred officers laid off, but that came with tremendous letters of recommendation from the mayor and the governor.

"Detective Bullock." Barbara said, greeting one of the mainstays of the Gotham PD as warmly as she could, given the history she had with the man. "Where's your partner?"

"Oh, you mean _Lieutenant_ Montoya?" he said with a jealous frown that was further accentuated by his graying ginger beard. "Probably finding new ways to arrest cops over in IA. Lookin' for your dad there sweetheart?"

"Yeah, got a present for him. Is he in his office?" Barbara asked, making a point not to emphasize the bag of Big Belly that she always brought him when she visited. The Gotham location was still in the process of rebuilding, along with the train station is had been attached to. It left the locals craving, and mightily so.

"Yeah, sure is, last I saw. Say, whaddya got there?" He asked, noticing the bag she was carrying.

"A present, for the commissioner." Barbara said a bit tartly, with a lift of one delicate eyebrow. "Have a good day, detective."

With that, the three of them walked away, but Deke could feel the detective's gears grinding. It was clear he was trying to put two and two together, and it was something Deke had considered his greatest failure. Just showing his powers off, and assuming Bullock was just another schmo. Despite his failings, he was an old-school police investigator, and he'd certainly put it together quickly.

So, in an effort to distract him, Deke tapped Detective Bullock's shoulder telekinetically, causing him to jerk and turn around, to immediately try and figure out which of the several people moving around behind him had done it. Mission accomplished.

"It doesn't look like there was even a scratch to this place." Aasha said, really looking at the interior of the precinct. "Or else the remodeling was absolute perfection."

"Not a scratch. The fifty second is the most sturdy, secure building in Gotham. I'm not the biggest fan of police militarization, and fortunately neither is my Dad, but having a place strong enough to hold the biggest hitters that terrorize Gotham was necessary, and the work was well done the first time." Barbara explained as they strolled towards the commissioner's office.

"I left Braeden here last year, apparently the jailers were laughing at him trying to punch his way out. Here's the office." Deke said, pointing to the furthest back door, one with little marking and no fanfare as to who resided within it.

They walked in, and of course, there was Jim, sitting in front of his computer, with a massive pile of printouts sitting in front of him. "Daddy, I have something for you." Barbara called out in a singsong voice.

Jim looked up, his mustache cocking up with a grin. "Is it my monthly good food?" He asked, carefully moving his stack of prints out of the way. "And the whole family too?"

"Yes Daddy, all of us. We've got to drop our thesis' off and I can't come to Gotham without saying hi." Barbara explained, setting the bag of food from the Metropolis Triple B in front of him.

Jim's face took on a greedy look for a minute, but he stayed his hands. "You sure about that? Officer Brinks said he saw you and the mister heading into one of the new complexes the other day. I didn't even get a call." He said with a wink.

"Oh, that." Barbara said, her face matching her hair. "Well, we were looking at an apartment, and we didn't want to say anything until we were sure. That's the other reason we're here. We're officially sure now. I got a letter from the Gotham library two days ago, they remembered me from my volunteer work, and they're offering me director of computer sciences. It's a good job, and it pays well enough that I can definitely contribute my fair share. STAR Labs might pay more, but there, I'd just be another fish in the pond. I can actually do something with my degree at the library, like build infrastructure and help keep information shared."

Jim came up from his desk and wrapped his only daughter up in his arms, giving her a hell of a squeeze. She'd gotten on a rambling roll, like she used to do as a little girl. "I knew you'd pull something amazing off. I'm proud of you Barb." While holding her, he looked at Deke and Aasha. "I assume you two knew about this?"

Deke nodded. "Sworn to secrecy, you'd shoot me if I violated that."

"Damn right I would." Jim said with false bravado. He wasn't even sure shooting him would do any good. It left him wondering about his eventual grandchildren. "So, that's a big bag of food. What do you three plan on eating?"

"Daddy, you should be happy I'm willing to indulge your bad eating habits once or twice a month. I _could_ stop bringing you this at all you know." Barbara said, poking her dad in the arm. "And the garden burger is mine, the two doubles are Deke's, the kid's meal is Aasha's, the rest is yours."

"Garden burger, where did I go wrong with you?" Jim asked, shaking his head.

* * *

It was a few hours later, and the trio were strolling through Gotham, taking in a pedestrian's view of the healing city. With Kris' abilities working overtime during the quake, there were several empty spots scattered among still standing buildings, and in some of them, construction was steadily occurring. Infrastructure had been happening first, for obvious reasons, lighting the city up as quickly as possible, and that was tied into water service, which had turned several unlivable neighborhoods back into legitimate places to be.

One of them, Little San Juan, had seen some of the worst of the quake, with multiple housing projects brought down almost to bedrock, but where there had once stood old, crumbling apartments, now new construction was taking place, with nice shiny Wayne Enterprises signs all over.

That would have been perfect, if there weren't LuthorCorp buildings going up in what seemed to be equal measure, a sight that Barbara, Deke, and Aasha weren't exactly too keen on noticing. "I don't like Luthor in this city. I don't see how Superman can tolerate him in Metropolis."

"Nothing he can do, Luthor covers his tracks way too well." Deke offered with a shrug. "Hey, who's running Kord now that Ted's gone?"

"Nobody on anyone's radar, why?" Barbara asked, curious where he was headed with it.

"Well, it looks like everywhere Wayne's building something, so is Luthor, but everywhere Luthor's building something, Kord's building two, and so is Queen, but they're building smaller stuff. I figured it was because they had less interest in Gotham and were mostly doing it for some east coast income and publicity, but it more looks like they're helping swarm all the Luthor buildings." Deke said thoughtfully.

Barbara stopped dead in her tracks at that, and began really observing her city, her home, and listened to what she had to say. Luthor was trying to get in, that was obvious. Bruce was doing his level best to stop him, but he was so leveraged into the city as it was that he was busy trying to keep his stock out of the basement to help. So, how best to do it?

A wide grin split her face when things began falling into place. "Fun piece of trivia that Ash probably knows already. When honeybees defend their hives, they don't sting the invader, because obvious reasons. Instead, they just cover them up and beat their wings, generating enough heat to cook them. That's what's happening here. Of course, that means the entire board of directors for Kord Enterprises is now on my radar, which means they're on Batman's radar, but it needs to be that way."

"Yay, more investigations. Can I go undercover for once?" Aasha asked, nudging Barbara in an effort into prodding her into moving. "I want to dress up like some kind of corporate shark and make people nervous."

"You know, that's actually not a bad idea. Cowboy, you've got a few more shifts at the hospital before your student residency is over, right?" Barbara asked, an idea already forming and taking shape.

"Yeah, next week's my last week, then it's free time before graduation, and then two more weeks and I start working at STAR Labs in Metropolis. You two gonna do some undercover work?" He asked, and for once, he wasn't talking about beneath the blankets in their bed.

"I do believe so. We'll get ahold of Fujin, he'd be perfect for this, and he's been itching for a chance to really show off." Barbara said, the idea in her mind becoming more than ephemeral wisps, hardening into a real plan. "I've got a feeling whoever's running Kord is either helping block how much subterranean real estate Luthor can use, or else they're working for him and giving him more space as well as blocking Queen. We need to know a lot sooner than later."

"I've got to fly into Opal City to knock down a derelict building for the city. I'll slip by his office afterwards to let him know." Deke offered. "Afterwards, Mami and Papi wanted us to come over for dinner. Mami's got a couple of new doctors coming into the practice so they wanted to have a get together."

"I'll patrol a while to give the Birds a few hours off, and you're welcome to join me Ash." Barbara said, which drew a bashful nod. It made her so happy to get invited along, something Deke could feel in spades. "We'll meet up back in Kentucky when?"

"Seven, we'll drive down." Deke said, his wheels turning. "I'll beat you both home, give myself time to cook. Love you both, be safe." He said, kissing both of them on the cheek before ducking down an alley and launching himself into the air.


	18. Chapter 18 Big Night, Big Transition

June 22nd  
Gotham City  
1745 EST  
Thirteen months after the quake

There was a massive buzz in the auditorium of Gotham University. How could there not be? These students were graduating despite the disaster, many of them fighting for their degrees tooth and nail to make sure they got out on time, when there wasn't a soul in the world who would blame them. No, these students were ready, and if the crowd in front of them were any indication, then it was reason to celebrate.

The real treat had come when Gotham's favorite son, Bruce Wayne, had volunteered to deliver the address. Not necessarily because of his celebrity status either. "Good evening everyone." He said in his measured, charming baritone once he got to the podium. "It wasn't so long ago that I stood where these students are now, and in the spirit of accomplishment, I'll keep things brief."

"Disaster marred this class, and the classes coming after them. Instead of curling up and hiding, these sons and daughters of Gotham instead grasped their future and refused to let go. Higher education was never supposed to be easy, but these students took on the Herculean challenge without another look, even while many divided their time volunteering and rendering aid, up to, and in some cases, including allowing displaced families to take up temporary residence in their dorm rooms."

"More than students, these heroes delivered where many others would have failed, and Gotham salutes you. Even as she heals, the city knows your names, and soon enough, so will the world. In fact, I think I can spare the trite speech about reaching for goals, since it's become quite clear that this class has proven their mettle already."

"I'm not sure if my alumni and donator status is enough to allow me to break protocol like this, but I'll find out after I do this. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and join me in truly congratulating this graduating class."

With that, Bruce turned to the class, an absolute tidal wave of humanity behind him, and led them in filling the auditorium with a massive and thunderous applause.

Among the students, Barbara steeled herself. She saw her dad out there, among the crowd, and couldn't shake missing her mother standing there with him. Even her _very_ soon to be mother and father in law next to him couldn't quite help to soothe the sting that should have abated years ago.

She must have been projecting her feelings too, as her boy, standing right next to her, took her hand gently and gave it a light squeeze. She offered him a wan smile, trying her best to ready herself for the next hurdle in the ceremony. In response, he just pushed a warm, loving sensation into her, a psychic nuzzle as it were, and coupled it with a smile of his own.

That helped, but it also distracted her, almost catching her off guard when the Dean spoke up. "And now, for the address from this class' Valedictorian, Miss Barbara Gordon, who graduates with her doctorate in computer science."

June 23rd  
Greenup Kentucky  
0845 EST  
Thirteen months after the quake

"Oh my God, that's awful." Barbara said, putting her hand to her forehead upon waking up. The dull, vicious ache she got from too much red wine was in full force, and she'd had more than one glass too many at the after party. "That's actually unwholesome."

She felt a small hand on the small of her back, and turned to see Aasha sitting up with her, the girl's impressive mane of hair splayed out every which way and barely revealing her still sleepy eyes. "Love, I tried to warn you, but you were on a mission it seemed."

"Maddie always brings really good wine." Barbara argued as she drew her knees up to her chest and leaned against them. "Was I acting out? There's a bit of a blur happening right now."

"You were the epitome of good girl until Mami and Papi left and Drew went to bed. After that, well, you don't get drunk often at all, so I'd say it's forgivable. You might have scarred Ingrid a bit though, when you tried asking Deke and I for sex." Aasha said, glad she'd stopped herself at two small glasses.

"Oh hell." Barbara swore quietly, the memory staring to come back to her. "That was _not_ the way I prefer to act around company."

"Well don't be too upset. Kris got himself absolutely pissed on that Jeager your father left none-too-subtly, and Pacifica, well, that girl is _not_ shy at all when she's in her cups. I might have seen more of her boobs than I have Maddie's by this point." Aasha said, finally realizing they were the only two in the bed. "I wonder where he's gotten himself off to? I think he did three shots the whole night."

"Best to find out." Barbara said, realizing she was naked as a jay bird once she tossed the blanket off. "After clothes. Maddie said she and Drew were staying for a couple of days."

"They've got the guest room, yes. Fortunately, you kept pretty quiet." Aasha said, poking her friend lightly in the ribs. "Also, I love you dearly, but drunk Babs needs to learn that motorboating her girlfriend's vag isn't sexy."

Again, Barbara shook her head at herself. Just one more reason to not get drunk she supposed. Quietly, she dressed herself, and offered Aasha something to wear since she was in a similar state of naked.

In short order, the two girls stepped downstairs to see an experiment in controlled chaos. Kris was passed out on one side of the couch, while Pacifica was laid out on the folding bed the other side of the sofa concealed, though it was certainly absurd to see her legs folded up under her to keep on the bed. Ingrid was curled up in Aasha's cuddle corner, and Will had made himself a small fort using the cushions of the couch and the coffee table.

"I hate this." They heard Maddie say from the kitchen. Stepping in, they saw her sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, already dressed for the day. "Getting up for school has me trained. Deke and Liho are outside with Drew by the way, I think they're teaching him Ha'a. If my kid comes in this house in a loincloth, I'm going to have strong words, so just be ready for that."

"If he buys the ticket, he can take the ride." Barbara muttered, more to remind herself that she'd brought the wine headache on herself. "Breakfast?"

"Deke said he's waiting until people wake up, but since the kids are outside playing, sit down please." Maddie asked, waiting until Barbara had gotten herself a bottle of water before making the request.

"Oh God, what else did I do?" Barbara said with a frown, though it turned upside down when she saw Ash going for the coffee maker.

"Oh, nothing I haven't seen before, don't worry. I wanted to talk about the wedding. He's got two weeks before he even has to think about what he's doing with his practice in STAR Labs, and you said last night that the Gotham Library can't hire you until they have the infrastructure for the stuff you need to do. This is perfect timing for the caterer's tour and the cake tasting, and all the other stuff I absolutely have to have you both available for." Maddie said, though a hangover would be worth being able to get drunk on the now and again, given the level of celebrating that had been done after Drew had gone to bed.

"Mads, you're right, and I've been procrastinating. The Birds all but took Gotham from me while I finished out school, and Bette would kill me if I kept putting the wedding off. Let's make something happen tomorrow." Barbara said, sipping at her water.

"Well, I owe Bette then. You think she'd accept a kiss?" Maddie asked with a smirk.

"She took my coming out, for what it was worth, pretty well so maybe. She'd probably like learning some of your wine secrets more though." Barbara replied, craning her neck around to look into the backyard. She managed to catch a peek of Liho and her boy working through the motions of Lua, and for half a second, she caught Drew out there with them. It brought a warmth to her that must've been obvious.

"Are they shirtless out there?" Maddie asked, turning around to see, joined by Aasha once she'd sat the mugs of coffee down.

"Maybe we should stop perving." Aasha suggested, taking a seat for herself after a moment, especially since neither of the men were indeed topless.

"I wasn't perving." Barbara admitted, taking a sip of her coffee. "I think my clock might be starting to tick."

"Oh not yet." Maddie admonished. "Ingrid told me you can't flux more than one or two pounds after her final adjustments."

"It's not insistent, I'll be good Mads. Anyway, we finally decided on Gotham for the wedding. The rebuilding is going wonderfully, the roads are better than they were, and places are opening or re-opening every day. We're going to do both ceremonies the same day, since Dad, Mami, and Papi have to stay out of the loop on who's who." Barbara said, feeling more and more human as she kept sipping her coffee.

"Well, last I heard, my hands are off the civil. Just a poke into the courthouse, right?" Maddie asked, breaking her phone out to put her ducks in a row.

"Yeah, pretty much. Ash is my proxy that day for the big ceremony, anything you'd need to ask me, you can ask her." Barbara replied, drawing a blush from her girlfriend, despite their conversation a week ago about it.

"Okay, done deal. I'll schedule visits for the caterers and bakers later today so we can go in a day or two. What do we know about a photographer? I'd've nudged Ash over here but she's in the party." Maddie asked, making both a mental and electronic note.

"Believe it or not, Superman suggested a photographer from the Planet that he trusts pretty much implicitly. There won't be any of the ceremony, due to some of the guest list, so we're going to have to stage some stuff before the guests arrive." Barbara said, remembering the surprising but fruitful conversation she'd had with Clark.

"Can we afford this photographer? Your budget is largely built on my ability to flirt my way into discounts for things, and the first decorator I talked to was gay so no luck there." Maddie said wryly. That hadn't been as productive as she'd wanted it to be at all, especially given how good looking the guy was.

"Yeah, we agreed to let it become a human interest piece so the Planet approved it for a back page article. Mr. Olsen is just being kind enough to shoot a whole lot more than he needs to." Barbara replied. Clark and Lois trusted him implicitly, and Kara was perfectly enamored of him. She couldn't ask for much better recommendation. "Batman will absolutely vet the guy anyways, so we're good."

"Okay, check that off then. Bridesmaid's dresses, where are we on those?" Maddie asked, going through the planner app on her phone. With her input, Kris had written it, and once all the kinks were worked out, they'd planned on putting it on the app store and splitting the take from it.

"I'm working on those. I have to find someplace that can make them small enough to fit me, and long enough to fit Zatanna, and still be in budget." Aasha said tartly. She'd looked at more dresses online than she ever expected she'd need to.

"Got it. Tuxes?" Maddie asked, setting her phone down to get a cup of coffee, and using that time to check on her son. She trusted Deke and Liho with him, beyond all measure, but he was somewhere that was still unfamiliar all the same. When she saw the three of them out there playing with him, she felt considerably better.

"Deke's in the same boat as I am." Aasha said. "Sizing for Liho has been a nightmare, and it's not like Deke's altogether that small. We're fortunate that Nightwing and Red Robin both have their own."

"So basic plain tux, I can't argue that." Maddie said, feeling like there was progress happening. "Venue?"

"I want one of the new places." Barbara said after a minute of thought. "There's a new ballroom opening this weekend, we can book it today since there won't be the kind of wait some of the old places have, and I'd rather help build new memories than live among the old ones."

"Okay, after breakfast, and apparently Drew's bath." She said when she saw her son walking up to the backdoor, filthy as could be but with a massive grin on his face. Behind him was Deke, who had a less exuberant expression on his features.

"Hey bubby, why don't you wash your face real quick before you give your mom a smooch?" Deke offered, pointing towards the bathroom off the kitchen.

"Why are you looking like that?" Maddie asked with an arched brow. His face wasn't worried necessarily, but there was concern.

"Okay, so he's perfectly fine, but Drew stepped on a copperhead out there. It bit him but it couldn't break his skin. The reason I'm annoyed is now I've got to go up the hill and hunt black snakes to turn loose out here. Liho's out there now looking for the offender." Deke explained, putting a hand on Maddie's shoulder in an effort to keep her calm.

"So he's good, no problems?" She asked, putting a hand to her chest.

"I'm good Mommy." Drew said, walking back into the kitchen with a clean streak just across his face. "Uncle Deke said it was as scared of me as I was of it, so it wound up missing me."

With his hand still on her shoulder, Deke could feel the titanic wave of emotion cross Maddie's body, deep enough to reverberate into her soul. He wasn't sure why, and he wasn't about to go digging around, but it was apparently a big deal.

"Drew, let's get you cleaned up. Your uncles got you covered in dirt." Maddie said, giving Deke a glance he only got from Barbara, the kind that said she wanted words with him later.

"Might not be too hasty, he's helping us change the brakes and the oil on the Chevelle once Liho's got the little bugger." Deke said, still running a wet paper towel across his face and hands. "He was awfully excited to get filthy."

"That's because I try to keep him clean, you know, like a civilized person." Maddie argued, giving her teammate narrowed eyes.

"It's Kentucky Mads, not Manhattan." Deke argued. "Plus, we have these big city machines called a washer and dryer, heard they do real good on dirty clothes."

"Bite me Deke." Maddie grumbled, but went back to her planner. She wasn't going to win this one and really, Drew needed the interaction with other people anyway. "You're still good with Drew being the ring bearer, but we need a flower girl. Ash, you sure you don't wanna?"

That drew a sour look and a couple of snickers. "I'm certain. Can they just hire an actress for it?" Aasha said through slitted eyes of her own. The flower girl joke had gotten old a year ago.

"No, we're not hiring an actress. Of course, the youngest girl any of us know, or are related to is Kara, and I doubt she'd be interested." Barbara said thoughtfully. "We might just scrap the flowers, I'm not exactly dead set on pure tradition anyway."

"I gotta niece if you still want a flower girl." Liho said, stepping into the kitchen. "About Drew's age, she ain't come up yet though so Pacifica might have to explain everything to her, on account my Atlantean still pretty bad."

"She could certainly work, if she's interested. Can we meet her?" Barbara asked, giving Liho a thoughtful look.

"Yeah, can make that happen. She comin' up with my sistah in law on Monday. Gonna be choke big trans… uh, change, for her though, just warnin." Liho explained, trying to work the logistics out in his head. "Gotta hop to Hawaii is all."

"We can fly out." Barbara said, patting her boy on the arm.


	19. Chapter 19 Moving Along

June 23rd  
Greenup Kentucky  
2200 EST  
Thirteen months after the quake

"So Mads, why are out here?" Deke asked, taking a seat on the swing in the side yard across from his teammate, and anymore, friend. "If you're pissed about the snake, I'm sorry, they're hell to spot and Drew's faster than me by a whole lot. You know I would've taken care of it."

"Yeah, that's not what I'm worried about. I'm not actually worried at all. I uh, I wanna thank you actually." Maddie said, catching Barbara glancing out the window at them. The woman couldn't still be worried about how she'd behave around him, could she?

"Okay, what for? It's gonna be a while before Drew can change oil on his own." Deke countered, once again having his own personal hate-on for being the kind of psychic that didn't peek in on people when it suited him.

"He called me Mom today. He looked me dead in the face and called me mommy. If you put him up to it, there's an ass-kicking you can't fly away from in your future. If you didn't, then that's where the thank you comes in." Maddie said, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Hell, I didn't put him up to anything. I probably referred to you as his mom a bunch without thinking about it though." Deke said, following Maddie's gaze to see Barbara stepping outdoors with them. He smiled at her and turned back to his teammate.

"Hey Red, I'm going to kiss your man real quick, no tongue though, promise." Maddie said to Barbara as she walked up. "Pure thank you and all, don't kill me, okay?"

"That always gets a pass Maddie." Barbara said, and watched their buxom blonde friend plant a chaste smooch on her boy's cheek. "He did good, he gets rewarded."

"He did really good." Maddie said, scooting over to give Babs a place to sit. "Drew called me Mom today, and it was probably Deke's fault. I had to show some gratitude and he's already seen my tits, so there you go."

"Well, there _is_ that." Barbara said with a smirk. "Ash took Drew upstairs and got him into bed already. We were going to have sundaes and watch a movie or two if you want to join us."

"Hell yes I do, let's go." Maddie replied, coming up out of the swing.

June 25th  
North Shore, Oahu  
0945 HAST  
Thirteen months after the quake

"My God this place is gorgeous." Barbara said upon stepping into the Atua compound. She could see Liho's original home, though it now bore additional construction, and sitting among several other buildings built in a similar style. There was lush greenery and beautiful flowers all about as well, artfully and tastefully landscaped, and all of it was breathtaking.

"Yeah it is. Remember that spot of sand under that palm tree down on the beach?" Deke asked, nudging her.

"I couldn't forget if I tried. We can't exactly go to the sand there anymore though. Too many people around." Barbara said a bit dreamily. Despite it being a simple moment between them, no grand marathon or earthshaking climax, it still ranked extremely high on her list of favorite sexytimes with her boy, just off the pure romance of the situation.

"You can say that again." Deke said, marveling at the number of people milling about, doing this, that, and the other. They were all Atlantean, that much was clear from the gills on their necks and the suspicious looks they were casting towards the two surfacers strolling down the long driveway from the gate.

Their ears both caught the sound of singing, very clearly Liho's mighty (and impressive) tenor, doing one hell of a rendition of Elvis' Teddy Bear. Arching an eyebrow, Barbara glanced at her boy, took his hand, and together the couple walked their way towards one of the smaller buildings. Once they stepped around it, closer to the beach, they could see Liho dancing with a much smaller young lady, who was giggling her little head off while she danced on his toes.

Simultaneously, Deke and Barbara looked at each other and gave the 'awww' face at the sight of it. They remained quiet though, and just watched for a minute, holding hands and just taking in the sight.

"He and Rindi are bonding. It warms my heart to see as well." Pacifica said quietly, stepping around the two of them. "Welcome to our home."

"Thank you Pacifica." Barbara replied, offering her a small bag. "Deke insisted on bringing bourbon as a gift. I'd go easy on it if I were you."

"Spirits are something I do not believe I will be indulging myself in, after the lesson I learned at your graduation party. In fact I feel compelled to apologize again for my less than modest behavior." Pacifica said, growing lavender in the face at her intense desire to wander around nude at the party.

"I wasn't too far from it." Barbara admitted, patting the taller woman on the arm. "I didn't do anything to make you uncomfortable, did I?"

"Not at all. You are betrothed, soon to be joined as one. I would feel more concerned if you did not express your desires for one another. On this subject, as the time draws nearer and nearer, I feel compelled to ask how I shall dress myself and Rindi? Will you prefer us in our native formalities, or do you wish us to be in surface attire?" Pacificia asked with a sincere curiosity.

"Atlantean garb is fine Pacifica. I'm not some Bridezilla that has to have all the focus on me. Honestly, I'm already going to be nervous as hell as it is, having someone taking some of the attention off me would probably help more than hurt." Barbara said with a wry smirk. "Did you have something in mind already?"

"Yes, and I promise I shall wear more than I did two nights ago." Pacifica said, glancing over to Rindi and Liho who were walking up to them, the little girl all but hiding behind him, peeking out around his legs to look at the strange surfacers with their smooth necks and so many clothes.

"/Hello Rindi,/" Barbara said, kneeling down and greeting the girl in excellent Atlantean. "/I'm Babs, and I'm pleased to meet you./"

The little girl's face split wide and she leaned around Liho's leg a little more. "/My aunt says I'm to be very important in your union./"

"/Yes you are, if you want to be./" Barbara replied to her, keeping that soft, gentle smile on her face. Despite the shyness the girl showed, the way she moved spoke of a deep well of confidence that Barbara recognized as a kindred spirit.

"/My Ing-a-lish isn't good, I don't want to disappoint./" Rindi said, growing bashful again, something Deke could recognize very well.

"You're perfect, just the way you are." He said, smiling sweetly to her. Rindi glanced at him, and then up to Pacifica, who translated for him. He felt a sense of relief that Pacifica didn't recognize the line from Mr. Rogers.

"Brah, I gotta be honest, I'm kinda jealous my sistah speak better Atlantean than me." Liho said, stepping away slowly once Rindi felt comfortable enough to approach Barbara without so much fear.

"Get used to it bro. I picked up ASL and Latin in school, and she was tutoring me in both of them. My Spanish is the only thing better. Just pray she doesn't take a notion to learn Hawaiian." Deke replied, nudging Liho with the bottle of Woodford's Reserve. Liho opened the bag and peeked in, an exceptionally pleased look on his face.

"This make it all better. You stay for lunch, yeah?" He said, gesturing towards Barbara and Rindi, the little girl reaching out to stroke Barbara's hair softly with a shy look on her face while she did it.

"Yeah, if you're sure. I won't turn it down." Deke replied, watching the two girls bond. Something about it was adorable as hell.

"Good, cause we cookin'. The house cook come down with icky-o thingie flu." Liho said, trying to get the hundred dollar word out of his buck fifty mouth.

"Ichthyoform Influenza, H2N17, or, Atlantean Flu. Nasty stuff, but easily treatable. What kinda doc are they seeing?" Deke asked, realizing that he could legitimately and legally consult on stuff like this now.

"Atlantean. Not too many surface docs know much yet." Liho replied, glancing at Pacifica and Rindi again.

"You'd be surprised. The US Navy put a program into place. Every carrier sick bay has at least one physician or nurse with training in Atlantean physiology and ailments. I mean, Atlantean docs know more, but in an emergency, just get whoever it is to Pearl." Deke replied. "What do you wanna cook?"

Grateful he'd changed the subject, Liho got that long distance thoughtful look on his face. "Steaks, ain't had a good steak in a while."

"I ain't sayin' no to that. It's all you though bro, you're better with beef than I am. I'll kill the sides. What do you think about mac and cheese with bacon, mixed greens, and baked potatoes?" Deke ventured. He hadn't had a good pot of greens in forever, and it'd definitely appease Barbara's desire for healthy eating. Plus, he could double duty the bacon for the greens and the mac.

"You talkin' my language brah, let's do it." Liho said, offering a titanic fist. Deke replied in like, standing next to the only human being he knew that legitimately made him feel physically inadequate in every way. Compared to Liho's, his fist seemed tiny in comparison.

"You're gonna have to direct me, I barely recognize your old house with all this new stuff." Deke said, gesturing around.

"Yeah, I still get lost too bruddah. I kinda hate we got to have all this, y'know? Pacifica don't need it, you know I don't. Had to build to make Atlantis and America happy, and I gotta be best I can for both, yeah?" Liho offered shamefully. The truth was, he looked horribly out of place, despite being obviously happy to be surrounded by loved ones.

"Yeah, I dig bro. One of the docs I worked for at the hospital basically took everything I'd learned and dropped a massive deuce all over all of it. Even when I said I was looking for private practice as a primary provider, he just laughed. I felt like I needed a shovel to fill in the hole in the ground I kept confusing for my ass." Deke said, going ahead and unbuttoning his shirt. It was clear Atlanteans mostly cared little for clothing, and he was leaving his pants on for the sake of the children.

"Yeah, by the way, about that. Rindi and her brother Rahm gonna need a checkup since they going to surface school. You game?" Liho asked, seeing as how his brother was a legitimate doctor now, it made sense. "Atlantean embassy payin' for it. Might well make sure the money go somewhere good, yeah?"

"I don't mind at all but you're gonna have to let me settle in with STAR first." Deke said, taking a seat on a low, decorative garden wall.

"Oh, we gotta bring 'em to you cause of that, huh?" Liho asked, not really considering what would be needed.

"Nah, I had a long ass conference call with the director of the lab. We kinda figured I'd be doing a lot of consults and long distance house calls until a few more people get their degrees. Get this, they're going to let me use this new thing they've got, it's called a Zeta system." Deke said with air quotes. "They say it's like a science fiction teleporter."

"I thought STAR knew who you were?" Liho asked around his own snickers.

"Doctor Franklin does, but I'm just Mustang in their records. No photos outside of costume or anything. He just remembers me and Babs. Hell of a guy, I'm kinda stoked I can call him a colleague." Deke said, now able to fully grasp just how much of a pain in the ass he really was as a patient back then. "So, just let me get my office in order, hire some staff, and make sure I've got my legal butt covered with their records and stuff."

"Shame STAR don't have a place on the islands. Make life a lot easier." Liho said thoughtfully.

"They tried. Hawaii wouldn't let them get the kind of land lease they wanted, and negotiations fell through. That's why Metropolis is building that huge extra wing I get to work in." Deke explained. "That director is a thorough dude bro. He was telling me everything about everything in that call."

"Better than him not tellin' you shit, yeah?" Liho said, nudging Deke with an elbow. "We Justice League, not mushrooms."

"Right?" Deke asked, and glanced over to Barbara, who smiled warmly and waved at him. Rindi glanced his way and joined her new friend in a frantic greeting.

"We better get them fed bruddah. House cook gonna be upset that you and Babs come to visit while he sick. I hear him bitchin' now 'bout it. 'Oh Excellency, you bring your salt family to your home and make them cook supper, now my honor is shamed and my knives will dull and probably I won't have a comfortable poo for a week now cause Poseidon think I'm a sissy.'" Liho lamented, putting on a ridiculous falsetto but completely unable to mask his accent in the slightest.

"Damn dude." Deke said, almost falling off the wall laughing at him. "Cut him some slack though, Atlantean flu is a legitimate flu strain."

"Yeah, I know, but the cook choke fussy brah. Make old Kris seem chill." Liho explained, though he calmed himself as quickly as he could. "Make new Kris seem kinda chill. He doin' okay though since he got his surgery though, look like."

"Oh yeah." Deke said, pausing his words long enough to inform Barbara where they were going and what their plan was. The excited look on her face told him everything he needed to know about how she felt about their lunch plans.

"Yeah, he's doing great. Before he got too drunk the other night, he said he's got his own place in Central City. He didn't want to go too far from his parents if they ever felt like reconciling. Apparently, he's going to the banks to get a loan to start his own tech firm. Knowing him, he'll have some investors in a year or two. Hell, I'll throw him some dough when I'm flush." Deke said, his invested FEMA money not coming in soon enough to suit his tastes.

"All he gotta do is ask." Liho said simply as the pair walked towards the big house. "Pacifica talk me into keeping my old account separate so my money ain't all Atlantean, just in case. I got plenty any more, enough I get to give a bunch away to help people around here."

"Hells yes brother." Deke said, offering Liho another fist bump. "That's the way to do it."

"You know it." Liho replied, already tasting the steaks he planned on cooking.


	20. Chapter 20 The Seattle Connection pt 2

**AN** : As with every Seattle Connection chapter, these were written solely with one reader in mind, who I hope will enjoy them. I hope everyone else does too, of course. What kind of hack fanfic writer would I be otherwise?

* * *

June 25th  
Seattle Washington  
1300 PST  
Thirteen months after the quake

Aasha walked along the streets of summertime Seattle, marveling at the lack of the famous rain. She almost made it happen regardless, but using her control over the weather just to satisfy her own tourist's desires seemed somehow wrong to her.

For the fifth time, she checked the navigation app on her phone, trying to find her way to the café she was looking for. She'd received an encrypted email from Biggy, and the language wasn't perfectly calm, but it also wasn't perfectly clear. Her desire to help this group of homegrown vigilantes had snowballed on her, turning her into something of a defacto liaison between them and the rest of the heroing world.

Eventually, she reached the small coffee shop, unremarkable against the backdrop of other small coffee shops that filled Seattle's landscape. Pausing, Aasha smoothed out her simple black dress and used the motion as an opportunity to look around.

"There's something to be said for a coffee colored angel in the city of rain and sorrow." She heard behind her. Giving a start at the surprise, she turned quickly and saw a rather unremarkable man in a tan fedora and sunglasses, looking like he'd rather be living it up in Havana instead of killing time in Seattle.

"Sweet of you to say, but," Aasha replied with a blush. "I hate to disappoint. I'm not wearing this collar for my health. I hope that doesn't prevent a friendly conversation."

"I don't know about friendly, but it doesn't prevent the conversation I contacted you about." Biggy replied, tipping his sunglasses down. "Sad to say, it's more business than anything else."

"Oh, let's get cracking then, shall we?" Aasha suggested, sensing not a bit of disappointment in the man's demeanor, and feeling much better for it. That didn't mean she wasn't going to file that line he gave her away though, not by a long shot.

"Follow me." Biggy said, and began leading her through the streets of the city. "We're heading to one of the safe houses Fencer set up when we put our roots down. You're some kind of wizardress, right?"

"Well, more or less, yes. Homo Magi, but I study my profession as well. I assume you need someone with magical skills?" Aasha offered, leading the conversation as much as he was leading their walk through the streets, taking empty side roads away from prying ears.

"Yeah, that's an understatement. Fencer and Jade Queen have a friend who got herself mixed up in some bad juju. In an effort to, I dunno, empower herself against the banality of the world, she wound up inviting some kind of spirit to take up residence in her soul. It's probably best you see it." Biggy replied, and the amount he really didn't understand was clear in his explanation. Aasha could read the confusion and lack of understanding in the man, especially with his use of the word juju.

"That's why I'm here. Is your friend well?" Aasha asked the bigger fellow. She'd spent so much time around the Movers that she'd almost forgot that there were men that weren't built like sprinters or bodybuilders, but she'd never judge a man for rocking the dad bod the way Biggy did. He carried himself with an air of confidence that was both admirable, and respectable. Were she not a kept woman, she well might have taken him up on his poetic flirtations.

With a wry smirk, Biggy unbuttoned the top three buttons of his bowling shirt, and exposed the left side of his chest. Beneath the fabric, four wide, deep gashes that were just beginning to scab over could be seen. "I'd say she's feeling frisky."

"Oh dear. She's not possessed is she? That's a school of magic I'd have to call in help for, and I promise you, the only exorcist I know is not a pleasant man." Aasha said, still not at all over the way John Constantine had begun her training.

"No, she's mostly coherent, capable of speech, largely friendly. According to the Jade Queen, she was trying to uh… mate with me, so there's some kind of instinct driving her too, something that they both said wasn't really _her_. Not possessed, just… I dunno, cohabitating with something." Biggy said, readjusting his shirt. In a more cogent frame of mind, he wouldn't have minded at all 'mating' with the girl, but when she started biting and clawing, well, that wasn't at all the way he made love.

"That sounds like a manner of possession. Perhaps not what Hollywood considers it, but all the same, it could be some kind of driving force. You said she was trying to perform magic to protect and empower herself?" Aasha asked, following Biggy down a wide alley. It was nothing like a Gotham alley, which still left her nervous. Instead it was more of a narrow street, and very tidy.

"Yeah, Jade Queen had some books laying around back where she used to live. I think it was more for shock factor than anything else. Well, her friend must've gotten into them and then done a little research. The Queenie said they were just bookstore paperbacks, not some old tome." Biggy said, still leading them.

"It's quite possible that some of those paperbacks got their information from older sources. I've ran into a couple I've had to steer people away from, and I know for a fact that Zatanna herself approached a publisher and urged them to remove a couple of rituals from their books due to how unsafe they could be made with a minimum of effort. If the books your friend got into were older editions, it's perfectly reasonable that she might've stumbled into something bigger." Aasha explained thoughtfully. "So, I hate to be a nagging Nancy, but how much further are we going?"

"Four miles, give or take, why?" Biggy asked, pausing to look at his guest. "Should I have brought the van?"

"Oh bloody hell yes. Can you show me a picture of where we're going?" Aasha said in good natured exasperation. Biggy shrugged, dug his phone out of his pocket, and shot off a text.

"Sorry, we're still getting our feet under us here. We don't exactly have Justice League level resources or anything. I guess since the Queen's the only one with powers, we're not really being looked at." Biggy said, waiting on the text reply.

"Not true. Batman had his eyes on Fencer when he and the Jade Queen were in Gotham a year or two ago. Not necessarily to take under his wing, but to certainly keep aware. He doesn't do that with everyone." Aasha replied sweetly.

"Well that's sort of comforting. Fencer said he was scary as hell." Biggy retorted.

"Oh, he very much is. I'm a member of the Justice League and he still frightens the socks off of me. I might be giving a bit much away, but Batgirl is my girlfriend, and she says he still creeps her out on occasion." Aasha said, feeling hopeful when she heard his phone chirp.

"Here, a picture of the place we're headed." Biggy said, handing her his phone. She nodded once after studying the picture and returned the mobile device to him, before raising her arms into the air.

"Amn ramu theira, miel valthas domus desta!" Aasha incanted quietly, but with great intensity. Just ahead of them, a mote of light appeared, and then slammed itself wide open like an iris, exposing a plain, simple room. "There we are, step forward, it's perfectly safe."

"Cool." Biggy replied, awed by the rifting magic, but feeling too amazed to be worried. He strolled through, Aasha behind him, but stopped much shorter than he'd planned. The Jade Queen was standing there, the look on her alabaster features none too pleased.

"Could have warned me you were bringing guests." She said with a scowl, her arms crossed over her ample breasts in disappointment. "Especially League."

"I'm here to help." Aasha said, her tone peaceful and oh so helpful sounding. She didn't want to get into a pissing match with someone who was ostensibly interested in the same good fight.

"Yeah, but we never asked for it." The Jade Queen replied tartly. "We've got a handle on this."

"I don't doubt it, but every bit helps." Aasha said, trying to deflect the woman's annoyance.

It didn't help. The Jade Queen walked towards her, hooked a finger into the ring in Aasha's collar, and tugged her even closer. "I said we have a handle on it."

That, however, was probably not what Aasha needed to see or hear. In an instant, a storm crossed over her dark chocolate eyes, and her feet lifted a few inches off the ground to look the dangerously beautiful woman in the face. "You do _not_ have the right, privilege, or permission to tug my collar, am I clear? That is reserved for one man, and one woman, and you, my dear frosty little twat, are not it. I might be a submissive, but I'm not your submissive. Now release me, and let me offer my services to help your friend or I can take my leave now and let you float in the wind. Have I made myself perfectly, inarguably, crystalline clear on this subject?"

Blinking away the sudden shock, as well as the dramatic uptick in temperature in the room, the Jade Queen released her grip on Aasha's collar. Even her body's instinctive desire to change felt cowed, as though the heat generated by the small woman's fury was too much for the creature to bear.

"Yeah, I got it." The Jade Queen said, taking a few steps back into the converted boiler room's main theater area. "She's… she's in the holding room to the right."

"Thank you." Aasha replied, coming back to her feet. "Now, Biggy has filled me in on the basics but I need to know what book, or books she used, what materials she applied, any invocations she might have added. Whatever you can tell me will be able to help me expel whatever is in this poor woman."

"It was my copy of 'Lunar Goddess, Solar God'. It's the only one I forgot to pack up when I left LA." Jade Queen replied, taking her glasses off the desk and slipping them onto her face. She either hadn't been recognized as the star of horror films that she was, or the girl on the League just didn't care enough to mention it. "She was lucid earlier, and she said she didn't use any other books or websites or anything. Just the fusion of moon energy ritual."

"I know that book, I know that ritual. I've performed that ritual in fact. Who was her consummation with?" Aasha asked, glancing towards the barred door to the side of the converted boiler room.

"Nobody. She didn't have anyone with her." Jade Queen replied.

"Well no bloody wonder then. That book is specifically meant for unification of masculine and feminine in celebration of the duality of nature and existence. It's a bit dated in theory anymore, but the rituals are perfectly functional." Aasha said, the realization of what had occurred dawning quickly. "Nature abhors a vacuum."

"So, since she didn't have anybody to consummate with, something wound up joining her anyway?" Biggy asked, sitting across the room while munching on a bag of chicken whizzies.

"Exactly that, yes. Performed with another person, or persons, it's perfectly safe, and if I'm being honest, a hell of a lot of fun." Aasha said with a frown. She dug into her purse and withdrew her QPhone, and hit the fast dial icon.

"Hello love." She said, much sweeter than she'd been with the Jade Queen. "Yes, everything's fine with me. I might be here a day or two, so don't get worried and come hunting for me. I'll call again once I have a room, I'm sure there's a hotel or two near enough that I trust. Yes, I will, and I love you. Yes, I will, you mule." She said, before returning her phone to her purse.

"They get so worried." The Jade Queen muttered.

"They do, but in the case of mine, serious property damage can follow when he's concerned for my well-being. We don't even want to discuss the reign of terror if the missus gets worried for me too." Aasha said, hoping that would never, _ever_ , be the case.

"She was lucid earlier, but after I fed her, she started getting hostile. Fencer's Jujitsu is good enough to keep her still, but it's not my forte. You're going in there on your own risk." Jade Queen said, and gave the nod to Biggy, who grabbed a compressed air pistol off of the computer panel he was resting his feet on, and loaded a dart into it.

"If she gets out, I've got to pop her. You really don't wanna be in the way in case I miss. There's enough Ketamine in here to knock out a bull." Biggy said, coming around the panel and waiting beside the Jade Queen. "I wish Fencer was here for this."

"You and me both." Jade Queen replied, before letting the creature within her come out. As was its usual, none of the jagged spikes or spines tore through her clothing as her skin turned to milky green ice, though she did sprout a vicious pair of horns this time around.

Aasha put her hand on the knob, a small ball lightning in her free palm, and opened up the door. Contained within, however, was someone who seemed not to warrant so much preparation. A woman, nearly as tiny as herself, sat there in the corner. Bright, and oh-so-bottle fire engine red hair, California looking shorts and tank top, with a fair tan but a terrified expression on her face.

"Those are lovely tattoos." Aasha offered, banishing the ball lightning in her hand. The small woman had leopard spots across both arms, shoulders, and what appeared to run across her small chest and back, down into her own humble cleavage. Ash felt an immediate kinship to the woman, just on size alone.

"They're not tattoos." The woman replied in a weak and breathy voice. She certainly sounded like the stereotypical vapid Cali girl type when she spoke, as she came off positively confused. Of course, her situation might be responsible for that. "They've been there since I did the thing in the book."

"Oh dear, is that right?" Aasha asked, still not entering the room. Despite her level of control over her own magic, she still didn't have much she could do that would guarantee not incinerating the girl in the event of self-defense. "Tell me about that please."

"I was so alone, so I did the magic in the book. It was supposed to make me stronger so I didn't feel scared." The girl replied. "I think I did it wrong."

"Dear, I'm positive you did it as right as you could. Tell me where you didn't follow the steps though please." Aasha asked, refusing to glance behind her, not wanting to draw further attention to the Jade Queen and Biggy.

The distraught, skinny, and what appeared to be exhausted girl curled up into the corner of the room before she answered. "I did the whole thing, up until the end. I didn't have anyone else, so I did it by myself. That's when she saw me, and I knew I did the ritual right."

"She?" Aasha asked, her suspicion growing much more significant. "Who's she?"

"We are Amari Ka, little Earth Goddess, and we do not fear your magics." The girl said, coming up out of her corner and leaping towards Aasha, the vicious growl of a jungle cat on her lips, and claws sprouting from her fingertips while she was midair.

A strong burst of wind knocked her from her path and all but shoved her back into the room, where that wind became the very vacuum that nature abhorred. The air pressure yanked the door shut with a loud slam, but that bought the Jade Queen the time she needed to re-bar the door.

"See, that's how we know she's getting towards losing it. She refers to herself as we." Jade Queen said, letting the ice crawl back into her body, restoring her much more normal human looks.

"And then _they_ do crazy shit like jump you talking about stuff I'm not comfortable repeating." Biggy said with a frown. "I'm not feeding her dinner. Fencer can do it."

"Ideally, by dinner time, I'll have bound Amari Ka." Aasha said, stepping away from the door.

"Bound? How long will it take to kick her out of my friend's body? It's kind of my fault she's like this." Jade Queen replied, giving a worried glance over to the door. Aasha didn't miss the honest love behind the woman's eyes as she did it either.

"I'm sorry to say, but there's no ejecting her without your friend helping, and it looks like she firmly invited Amari Ka in. The best we can do now is to bind the creature down, maybe give that poor girl a chance at a life bordering on normal again." Aasha said with a frown as she pulled her QPad mini from her purse.

"No, she had a record contract. The music might've been bubblegum, but she had a shot at going somewhere." Jade Queen argued. "Her life wasn't supposed to get as fucked as ours."

"Well, and this pains me to say it, her life _is_ fucked now. Right and proper. She allowed a being of immeasurable power to take up residence in her soul. Amari Ka," Aasha said, showing the screen of her tablet off. "is a South American nature spirit powerful enough that she's being worshipped by covens as far off as Austria. Have you ever heard of Cheetah? Wonder Woman's rival?"

Biggy nodded, perhaps more dreamily than he should've. "Yeah, she's nothing to sneeze at. She can fight Wonder Woman to a standstill, and the rumors say Wonder Woman can fight Superman to a stalemate."

"Yeah, that's circular logic, but you're right about being able to battle Wonder Woman head on. The point is, something tragically similar happened to Cheetah. Only she had the spirit bound to her. Your friend opened the door. There's no evicting it, just keeping her locked up nice and tight, or else a similar, and just as furry fate is what's coming to that girl in there." Aasha explained.

"We heard that!" came from the side room, her voice in a strange dual-chorus effect. "And we're not letting you bind me!"

The door thumped hard twice, before going quiet. "Sorry, she does that." Came only the single voice of the girl trapped within. "Reminds me of someone."

"So, what do we do?" Jade Queen asked, gesturing for Biggy and Aasha to follow her. Together, the three of them strolled across the room to another control panel, where Biggy hit a few keys. A deep thunking sound reverberated throughout the room, and on the metal door of the side room, a single wheel turned, like a ship's hatch being operated by remote.

"I need some things. I heard that twenty years ago, I could have gotten everything I needed here, but I probably have to go to Portland for a good bit of it now. Unless you can direct me to a sincere and honest merchant of all things magical, that is." Aasha said thoughtfully, remembering the tales that John Constantine used to regale her with of turn-of-the-millenium Seattle.

"I can put out some feelers. What else do you need?" Biggy asked.

"A box of crackers and some vegetable cream cheese." Aasha said after a minute's thought.

"Those are magical tools?" Biggy asked, his eyebrow cocked and his face puzzled.

"No, I'm going to get hungry."


	21. Chapter 21 The Seattle Connection pt 3

August 9th  
Seattle Washington  
2305 PST  
Fifteen months after the quake

Fencer sat there in the rolling office chair in their boiler room lair, Jade Queen to his left, Biggy to his right, and all three of them with eyes locked on their recently recurring visitor, and the other guests she'd asked to bring along with her.

"Who are these people?" Biggy asked. It pained him that he worked so hard to keep abreast of the greater heroing world, but couldn't place anybody but Zatanna amidst the group of people setting up what appeared to be a massive ritual in front of the room they were holding Amari Ka in.

"She called them the Dark League." Jade Queen said. "But apparently they're still the good guys. Just bigger guns is all I suppose."

"You're absolutely correct madam." Jason Blood replied, glancing up from where he stood near the door. His own magical skills weren't up to the same par as Zatanna and Constantine, but if Amari Ka got loose, he'd show his usefulness quick enough. "Though perhaps it's less bigger guns, and just more of them."

"She'll be okay after this?" Fencer asked. He had the kind of heart that made it hard to hide how he felt, and it was plain he was just as concerned for their friend as Jade Queen and Biggy were.

"It would be unkind to make a promise of that, but two of the most knowledgeable magicians in the modern world stand here to help." Jason said charmingly, hoping to put them at ease. If they _did_ manage to separate Amari Ka from the young lady, there was enough magical power to put her back where she belonged.

"Just don't forget my fee." Constantine said, giving Jade Queen a glance that, no matter what was going on behind his eyes, seemed dirty.

"Signed copies of every one of my movies, made out to John Constantine, the greatest lover in the world. Yes, I didn't forget." Jade Queen said with a sigh. It could have been worse, she supposed.

Zatanna shook her head at John, and gave Aasha a glance. "You're feeling confident about this?" she asked, noticing the exhaustion on the woman's face.

"Eighth time is a charm I suppose." Aasha said, readjusting a verdant green candle wrapped in a braid of leopard hair for the third time. "I wish Pacifica were of some use in this. I've worked with her much more frequently."

"Atlantean sorcery can't handle spiritual breaching like this, it's just not made for it. Trust me, I wouldn't mind her and Mera here, and Doctor Fate for that matter." Zatanna replied. "Redundancy and all."

"You think it'll be that hard?" Aasha asked, finally satisfied with the candle's orientation.

"Amari Ka has been in that girl for almost six months, according to the team over there. Six months of willing invitation, with plenty of time to whisper whatever it takes to stay there. I think it'll be that hard, yeah. Before we get started though, how are the SO's doing with you bouncing back and forth for the past two months? I really don't need to answer to an angry redhead if I don't have to." Zatanna asked, knowing full well Babs and Deke supported Ash's project, and just used them as a touchstone to calm the frazzled woman down.

"They're lovely about it, of course. Trip number six they actually came up here with me. Still coming to the wedding next month, right?" Aasha asked, taking a slow breath to calm herself.

"Of course. I've got to wear that beautiful dress you found." Zatanna said, patting Aasha on the shoulder. Looking up at the assembled people, she raised her voice to be heard. "Okay, we're ready now. Come over please."

Jade Queen and Fencer stood up, and crossed the room with their hands clasped together. The Queen might have some working understanding of Witchcraft, but Fencer was at one with science and technology. Magic belonged in DnD, comics, movies, and books as far as he was concerned.

"When this starts, you two need to stay on this side of the outer circle ring." John said, gesturing to the seven layer circle they'd drawn. "Step wherever you must, but don't knock anything over. If she comes out of the room, the runes I painted on your neck will protect you from her."

"Oi, you there in the back, big man. You've got no connection to our little victim, is that right?" John added, giving Biggy a look. When Biggy nodded, John took a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it to him. "Keep hold of that for me then, toss it back if I ask, and don't be afraid to put some pepper on the toss."

"Let's begin then, shall we?" Aasha asked, tossing her bolero on and allowing the magic within it to come out, leaving her in the guise of Daeva, complete with the beautiful hair and makeup that always came with it, leaving Jade Queen feeling a tiny pang of jealousy again. It should _not_ be that easy to look that good.

Aasha, Zatanna, and Constantine stood around their circle and began chanting, the language ancient and long forgotten. Within seconds, silver lines of light formed between the three of them, creating a triangle of ley energy. The candles within the circle lit of their own accord, and the incense began smoking without a hand to make it so.

Most dramatically, however, were the sounds coming from within the holding room. Thumping and pounding at first, growing to a crescendo after several long, agonizing minutes. It was followed by the mewling and then screaming of a jungle cat, still in that same dual voice. Then, almost an hour later, it was nothing but quiet.

Zatanna gave Fencer and the Jade Queen the nod, and the pair moved gingerly through the circle and opened the door that sat right at the edge of the ring. "Kitty, are you okay?" Fencer asked, peering into the room.

"I hurt." Their friend said weakly. "But she's not making me do things."

"Good, that's great news." Fencer said, and patted the Jade Queen on the shoulder, letting her step in front of him.

"Kitty Kat, listen, you can make her go away and not come back. We've got the things here for you to do that, all ready to go. You don't have to have her in your head anymore." Jade Queen said softly.

"But she helps me." The girl argued, trying to drag herself across the floor. "We're friends now, and I'm not alone."

"But we're your friends too." Jade Queen said. "And we're worried about you."

"My friends don't leave me. My friends don't abandon me. My friends don't just forget about me the minute I leave my girlfriend!" The girl said in a strong voice, quickly turning into a growl as she tried to come into a pouncing crouch. "And! We! Don't! Need! You!"

"Oi!" John called out, for the first time breaking the chant. "Now!"

Biggy tossed the lighter to John, who caught it with a practiced ease, before flipping the lid open and spinning the striker. The sparks caught the wick, bringing a deep red flame. John turned and tossed the now burning lighter at the pouncing girl, where it struck her and immediately engulfed her into that same bright red flame.

"What the hell?" Fencer said, surprised by the suddenness of it all. "What's going on?"

"What'd you do to her?" Jade snarled, green ice already climbing up her arms even as she knelt beside the burning, screaming girl.

"The Promethean flame. Call it the plan B." John said, more than a bit smug.

"That lighter carried the Promethan Flame?" Zatanna snapped, her voice shrill in her fury. "Now Amari Ka is completely bound to her! Did you give any thought what-so-goddamn-ever about whether or not she's mentally and emotionally strong enough to contain her?"

"The divinity is weakened by the titan flame, and will remain that way as long as the girl keeps her in there. If she wants power, she can evict herself and find a new vessel. If she wants to stay on this plane, she's going to, in a weakened state, where the girl can take the driver's seat." John said, reaching down and picking up his lighter. "Best of a bad situation and all."

"You son of a bitch." Jade Queen snarled.

"Yes I am. Now, about my fee."

* * *

Hours later, well into the rainy Seattle night, Aasha stood on the roof of the apartment building, a long look on her face. "You've lost weight." She heard, and turned to look at the Jade Queen, who strolled up next to her. "Over the past couple of months, you've probably lost six pounds you really couldn't afford."

"I've been feeling it, and I've got a bridesmaid's dress to fit into too. I'm sorry about your friend."

"She's doing better now. We've got her up and walking around. She's eating a little bit better too. Will all that really help her though? The spirit's still in there after all." Jade Queen said, leaning against the roof wall with Aasha.

"Yeah. Amari Ka's will has been weakened dramatically. I think a child could control her now." Aasha replied.

"Good, that's about what we're dealing with on a good day." Jade Queen replied. "You heading back to wherever you're from tonight?"

Aasha nodded. "Yeah, not really ready for the lecture about my health and nutrition that I'm going to get, but I'm looking forward to the cuddles."

"You confuse me. You all but went full Necronomicon on me, but there you are getting worried about a lecture and excited to get cuddled." Jade Queen said in a moment of introspection and honesty.

"I'll stand up for myself all I need, but really, what my heart needs is that kind of love. I'm spoiled by it, I know I am. Call it an addiction I suppose. It's hard to explain." Aasha replied.

"No, I get it. You're not the only one in a complicated relationship with more people than most expect." Jade Queen said. "I just get the added fun of paparazzi when I'm out in the real world. Lemme guess, you have your man to, well, manhandle you, throw you around a little, give you the rough stuff, and then the girl's there to be nice and gentle?"

"Almost perfectly to the contrary. I've played hell training them but they're getting there." Aasha said with a smirk. "She's my challenge in life, my struggle. She's always trying to help me become a better version of myself, every day. He's my stability, always there when it gets too overwhelming. I love them both so much."

"Yeah, maybe don't tell Biggy that. He's been studying Hindi." Jade Queen said conspiratorially.

"Wouldn't help, I don't speak it. But, if he's interested in other Indian women at all, then it might be of use, and I wish him nothing but good luck." Aasha said with a yawn. "Sorry, it's three in the morning back home."

"East coast girl huh? Well, I won't keep you. And hey, by the way, I don't like asking for help so I was a raging bitch and maybe I shouldn't have been. I'm just glad it was you and not somebody violent who called me on it." Jade Queen said. "So, thanks Daeva."

"Superheroes are a clannish lot. That's why there's a Justice League at all. When you work for so long with the same people, every problem is yours and yours alone. My team got accepted in one go, and we still keep to our own base and work amongst one another for the most part. I understand that." Aasha said, already picturing the living room of the new Gotham apartment in her mind in preparation of gating in.

"Well, if things go sour with our friend, we'll call." Jade Queen said. "Don't be a stranger either, we've got contact information. I might even throw you and yours some tickets for my next picture."

"I'd like that, thank you." Aasha said, hugging the woman and trying, but failing, to avoid a faceful of boobs. The Jade Queen didn't seem to mind much.

"Amn ramu theira, miel valthas Gothamu desta!" Aasha incanted, opening the iris across the country, and happy the noise it generated was far quieter than her incantation. She didn't want to wake Babs or Deke. "Be well, and be safe."

"You too." Jade Queen said, and watched Daeva step through her portal, and then watched it close. She glanced over to the roof access, and saw her own gentleman standing partway in the shadows, where he'd remained quietly.

"You've grown." He said with a smirk as he walked over to her, falling in love all over again at the sight of her in the rain of his hometown, and the way it caused her raven black hair to lay against her head. "Admitting faults now?"

"I blame you. Now, let's see if I can get you growing. I've still got some stress to work out." She said, taking hold of him by the package. "But, we need to redefine the nature of our relationship before we get too into things."

"Okay, let's hear it." Fencer said, scrubbing his hands through his short dark hair. "I'm all ears."

"She's not who she used to be, and according to the Dark League, she probably never will be. In fact, she wouldn't have invited Amari Ka in if she had us like she should have." Jade Queen said thoughtfully. "Either we all need to commit to Seattle, or LA, or we pare things down."

"LA was rough, and Azteca doesn't have the support she needs. I love Seattle, it'll always be home, but between here and LA, I think we know where the clear choice is." Fencer said after a minute's rumination.

"So, you're bailing on Seattle to catch a little extra tail? I mean, that's a level of hedonism that I can't even start to admire without a detailed plan and a PowerPoint." Jade Queen said with an upturn to her rosebud lips.

"No, that's not why. Seattle doesn't have the problems LA does, and it's not like we're really welcomed here. Let's pack it up here and give Azteca the backup she needs. Besides, our friend down there could stand to have more of her own support. It's not like her girlfriend's been a lick of help in that regard." Fencer said, already mentally preparing to say goodbye to his home, knowing full well he shouldn't have gotten attached.


	22. Chapter 22 Settling In

**AN:** Another author's note? Yeah, I think, from now on, I'm going to _try_ to do one on every chapter, kind of my way of communicating with my reader(s). It's inconsistent, I'll give, but I've got to start somewhere.

I've been updating more in the past couple days to make up for the days I missed. New life schedule has me scrambing to get myself sorted out before I fail at life. Hope it's enjoyable, I know it's a load of fluff, but it needed written, and I didn't want to bog the plot and story of a full couple books with this stuff.

* * *

August 12th  
Gotham City  
1530 EST  
Fifteen months after the quake

Deke stepped into the penthouse apartment he and Barbara were currently turning into their own, and since moving in (if one could call it that), for the hundredth time, he'd wished they'd waited a little while longer. The kitchen was bare, devoid of everything that wasn't pre-installed, there was a single hand-me-down sofa courtesy of Gotham U's post-quake remodeling. No tv, no stereo, and in the bedroom, only a mattress to sleep on.

Still, it was home, and he'd live in it. Babs hadn't wanted to wait, but since she her job was actually _in_ Gotham, it made sense to be close when they were able to let her start. It's not like she could just up and fly there the way he did to cross the bay into Metropolis.

Deke pulled his shoes off, set them next to the kitchen bar, and then plopped down on the couch. He still had a wealth of applications to sort through over the weekend, including some video resumes on his tablet, before he could completely pick his office staff. STAR was being nice enough to let him hire two nurses, an office manager, a billing specialist, and two receptionists. For a budding practice, it was generous indeed.

He sat there quietly, slowly progressing through the stages of 'dressed for work' to 'undressed after work' as he read. By the time Barbara stepped in, his pants were laying off the back of the couch, joined by his button down, while he was laying there on his back, his tablet telekinetically propped up on his chest, while lounging in his underwear.

"Tell me what kind of lazy sack of bones I'm marrying again, could you please?" She admonished sweetly, stepping in and leaning over him with a smile. "Miss me?"

Deke sat up and put his tablet away before grabbing his love in his telekinetic grip, pulling her over the couch and onto his lap. "I keep thinking I know what missing you feels like, but every day it gets worse and worse." He said, nuzzling noses with her, before planting a long, loving smooch on her.

She colored nicely at his words, and curled up onto him once they broke their kiss off. "So, I can't look much more like a librarian, if you'd care to join me for getting changed into my every day clothes." She said with a naughty smirk.

She wasn't wrong either. Knee length skirt, button down top, and summer weight blazer jacket, she was the epitome of conservative librarian. Even her hair, done up in a bun, screamed it. "Babe," he said to her while brushing her cheek with his fingertips. "I would absolutely love to."

"C'mon then Cowboy." Barbara said, slipping off of him with such grace that she made it look too easy. "We've got less than a month till this is legally binding and crunch time starts tomorrow. In fact, I'm giving Ash a half hour and then I'm starting without her."

"Well hell, we can't have that." Deke said, coming to his feet while summoning his laundry to his hands. "If you're willing to give her a half hour, how about we get something to eat? She's got to get across town and the trains won't be back up for another six weeks. We could meet her, have a nice dinner, then really kickstart the madness."

"I like the way you think mister." Barbara said, though she tucked a finger into the waistband of his boxer briefs. "But I'm getting out of this outfit one way or the other. If there's dinner before I get to have my fun then I'll take it, but this getup has got to go."

"Somebody hates her monkey suit I take it?" Deke said, letting her pull him into the bedroom, where she pushed at his chest to guide him to the mattress on the floor.

"Oh you have _no_ idea. How in the world did you convince STAR to let you doctor in streetclothes like that?" Barbara said, stepping away from the bed so he could see every bit of her. She'd get undressed, he'd get a good tease, everybody won.

"Honestly? STAR Labs is run by people with an average age of thirty. You've got to answer to the city itself. Realistically, it's because you're so damn hot that people'd forget why they came to the library to begin with if they saw your ass in a pair of jeans." Deke said, but his mouth clamped up pretty tight when Barbara pulled the pins from her hair and shook it free.

"I like your second answer better." Barbara said, slipping her jacket off her shoulders and letting it hang on the dressing screen she'd brought from her Dad's apartment. "But I hate that your first answer is the right one."

She reached for the buttons on her shirt, popping each one nice and slow. Across the room, Deke reached to his right and grabbed a pillow, casually resting it in his lap with a pointed look at his girl. "Give it time. You'll be so valuable they'll do whatever they can to keep you. We both lucked into our fields. I'm kinda the _only_ xenopediatrician on this planet, lots of job security there."

Barbara smiled at him and peeled her shirt off, tossing it at him. It left her in her skirt and her plain white bra, and already feeling so much better about life. Once that offensive and horribly uncomfortable support garment was gone, she might die with a smile from the relief. "Yeah, there _is_ that. Is that pillow comfortable, by the way?"

"Yeah, it's becoming useful all of a sudden." Deke quipped as Barbara undid the side zipper on her skirt and let it fall to the floor, where she stepped out and lifted it with the toe of her shoe, raising her leg straight vertical without the slightest hint of difficulty. "Make that absolutely vital. Damn babe."

Barbara giggled, loving showing off her impressive flexibility. She would have enjoyed it more if she wasn't standing there in plain white underwear, but the look on his face was so worth it. "So, one of librarians seriously thought I was nineteen." She said, pointedly not addressing that she was still standing there on one foot, with the other leg pointing straight up in the air.

"You don't look your age babe, they're not necessarily wrong." Deke said, trying to follow her words instead of her body. She made it so damn hard though, and it was difficult to track her speech at times like that too.

"Yeah, about that. You think it's because you re-set me every night?" I'd been pondering it for a while now, thought it might be worth asking." She replied, bringing her leg back down and reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra, waiting on his answer before she finished the job.

"It's possible I guess, I might be making your body purge the dead cells and encouraging healthy growth. I do it to Ash too." Deke answered thoughtfully. Being around them day after day, he'd not really noticed it. "Should I stop or something?"

Liking his answer, she let her breasts spill free, where her new barbell piercings caught the light just right with the shiny purple jewels on the ends. "No, let's not be hasty. I'm not vain, and you know it, but holding onto my youth a while longer isn't hurting my feelings in the slightest."

"It's not your body I fell in love with babe." Deke replied honestly. "But I do it without thinking about it, so I'm glad that works out for us both."

"It does." Barbara replied, unrolling her panties down her legs before strolling over to him in her thigh-highs and heels, and nothing else. "So, how's that pillow working for you now?" she asked, stepping onto the mattress and coming down into a straddle over his knees.

He moved the pillow, revealing just exactly how much it was hiding. Barbara licked her upper lip delicately and brushed a fingertip up his cotton clad equipment. "I worked hard for that," she said seductively. "So stop hiding it, got it?"

"Didn't wanna be a tease." He said, reflexively swallowing. She had all the power in the world over him in moments like this, and she knew it.

"I did." She said, planting a quick smooch on his cheek before bouncing off of him with a giggle. "Let's get dressed and surprise the girlfriend. El Tiempo de mi Vida opens tonight, I passed them on the way home, and you know how much she likes Caribbean food."

"Tiempo's the place Ramon's cousin opened. I promised we'd try it." Deke said, not able to resist swatting her bottom as she stepped away. She put a hand to where his fingers had smacked her backside and turned to look at him with mock scandal.

"Save those spankings for the girl that really likes them." She scolded, but soothed that scolding with another kiss. "And you owe her linking one night too, don't forget."

Deke nodded. "I know I do. You're sure you're okay with that?" He asked, pulling all the clothes lying about the room to the center, before sending them off into the hamper.

"Yes baby, I'm one hundred percent sure. I wanna be there to see it, since I want to know what it looks like from the outside, but I want you to. We've been telling each other the I love you's for a while, if there's anything I'd get touchy about, that'd would've been it." Barbara argued.

"Well, okiedokie then. I just…" he began, letting his words trail off as he pulled a pair of shorts on.

"You just don't want to jeopardize anything. Cowboy, you talk in your sleep when you're stressed." Barbara said, putting a hand on his chest. At this rate, she'd never get dressed for dinner.

He frowned, and sighed. "Sorry, you'd think a psychic would have a better rein on things. It's true though. I don't want to jeopardize any of this."

"You're painting with too fine a brush babe." Barbara said, finally getting a chance to pull on a much more comfortable bra, intentionally mismatching her panties just because they weren't plain white. "This is our life, together. It's not cheating when I'm the one encouraging it. I really want to see it, that's no joke. I never tried filming us when we do it, because I felt like it was too emotionally powerful, and cameras would ruin it for me. Getting it live, that's a whole other thing."

"Alright, my arm's twisted. After the honeymoon though, next time you're off your birth control. I'm not doing any thinking with my dick after tonight and linked sex ruins me as much as it does you." Deke said, digging through his suitcase and withdrawing a tee shirt.

"That's not necessarily a terrible idea actually." Barbara said, giving her phone a glance. Three new texts from Maddie, and she'd just gone through them before she stepped into their apartment. "I think she can tell when we're getting frisky, and she's texting out of spite and jealousy."

"I mean, maybe. I can't get anything else from Hal or Jon about her alien heritage." Deke said, deciding socks were too much trouble so sandals it would be.

"I was mostly joking, but I suppose that's something necessary to know." Barbara said, showing him the tip of her tongue. "I really hope that's not actually the case, otherwise the honeymoon's going to kill her."

"Yeah, no kidding. Speaking of the honeymoon, the travel agent texted me while I was on lunch, wanting to confirm everything." Deke said, handing her a shirt of her own, her old Waking Lights top that she'd gotten at a concert and never let go of.

"So, Kris texted you asking if you got your passport in, and if we were happy with Honolulu?" Barbara asked, turning around and giving him a pert look.

"Yeah, pretty much. He's been in a hell of a mood the past couple weeks, just accomplishing all the things. I'm telling you, we're building up a hell of a line of credit with our friends with this wedding." Deke said, following Barbara out of their bedroom.

"You're not wrong Cowboy. We've been blessed, you and I, with wonderful friends. Speaking of them, do you want to keep this dinner intimate, or should I call Bette? We've been orbiting for two weeks now." Barbara asked, digging into her purse on the kitchen bar and digging out her earrings. They were small, dangly, gold affairs, which Deke had bought her in the mall, carrying several superhero symbols, and she'd worn them whenever she had a chance. Work was not one of those places.

"Call her." Deke suggested, tucking his keys into his pocket, not entirely sure he'd ever be fully comfortable having an elevator key that led directly to his purchased apartment. "Tiempo's supposed to be a big table affair. Call Artemis and Tim, he's in town for a while."

"I could do that. The least I can do is offer Tim dinner for taking over for me in the home stretch. I'm going to have rust all over once we're back from Hawaii." Barbara groused. "I might feel the need to get positively acrobatic during our alone time, just to keep in form."

"You're a vicious tease, Miss Gordon." Deke said, pinching her bottom and giving her neck a kiss.

She shivered with a giggle, and turned to face him. "Speaking of. I'm going to change my name legally, but I'm keeping my maiden name for professional purposes. It's an extra hurdle, but it'll be worth it for all of the paperwork and everything once we have a family and everything."

"So you're O'Connelly to the eventual PTA, and Gordon at the library?" Deke asked. He might have offered his name to her in his proposal, but that was more for effect than any real sense of need. "It's another layer of insulation too."

"That's what Bruce said when I asked for his advice. It's not a bad idea really. The Library is going to filter a ridiculous amount of the city's information, there's bound to be some bad people that want their hands on it." Barbara said.

"It'd be stupid to try, but yeah, there's definitely going to be someone ballsy enough to think they can leverage or intimidate the pretty redheaded girl working in the IT department." Deke said, the mental picture of her whipping someone's ass in her librarian getup simultaneously amusing and arousing him all at once.

"You're doing that thing where my ego and the rest of me have to compete for space in the room Cowboy." Barbara said, poking him in the stomach.

"Yeah, well, you do it to me." Deke countered, strolling to the elevator with her. He dug his phone out of his pocket and shot Ash a text, while Barbara did the same thing for Tim and Bette. It was going to be a fun night.


	23. Chapter 23 A Night In

August 18th  
Gotham City  
1400 EST  
Fifteen months after the quake

The elevator doors opened, leaving Deke looking at the interior of his apartment. Still mostly empty, still not reflecting the cost of the place. Not that the price tag mattered a whit, he was more concerned for the comfort of the place. Their home was supposed to be a haven away from the stresses of their jobs, the day one, and the night one, and really, all he could see was an emptiness, leaving him missing the tiny little apartment he, Babs, and Ash had shared up until a little over a year ago.

Yeah, that whole apartment could just about fit in the living room of the new place, and the kitchen, oh sweet baby Jesus the kitchen was made for magic, but the old place was inviting, the smallness of it cozy, not constrictive. "We need some fuckin' furniture." Deke grumbled, setting his briefcase on the kitchen bar top.

"Language sir!" He heard from the master suite, giving him pause. It wasn't Barbara scolding him, it was Ash. She followed it with a giggle from her small, sweet voice, but it was unmistakably her girlfriend's influence. "I'm in the bedroom."

"Invitation or information?" Deke called back to her, peering towards that direction.

"Information love. I'm dressed and comfortable, and I have no intention of changing that. You're welcome to join me if you like though." She offered, still not leaving the room.

Well, that was enough for him. As much red-blooded American male as he was, he didn't need sex twenty-four seven to be happy. Walking that way, he stepped into the room to see Aasha sitting on the bed in some thin sweats and a tank top, watching the tiny television they had set up in front of the mattress. "Welcome home Love." She offered cheerfully.

"Thanks kitten. What's on the tube?" He asked, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress to remove his shoes, trying to wear them as little as possible to keep them from developing Deke O'Connelly brand foot funk.

"Art documentary. Boring as it comes really. I got an advance copy to pre-screen for accuracy since the gallery is getting a few of these pieces." Aasha replied, pausing the movie and turning to look at him more fully. "Now I said I was busy but you still get hugs and kisses."

"I'll take 'em." Deke drawled, turning into her and letting her wrap her arms around him while her lips pressed nicely to his.

"Then it's good I like giving them." Aasha said. "How was work today?"

"Honestly, pretty fun. I hired my office manager today and threw the poor bastard into the mix when STAR sent an office designer up to help set things up." Deke said, taking a bit of real estate to join Ash in her movie. It was better than nothing at the least.

"You did design work without ringing me?" She asked, giving him a cheated look. "I know my calling's in fine art but I took a good bit of design classes in the event a gallery wasn't hiring."

"STAR has their own consultant babe, and I already told them the paintings are getting sourced outside of their catalogue." Deke countered, having already planned to hang some of the pieces she'd done during her downtime in Kentucky.

"I'm much better now then, thank you." Aasha said, leaning back fully against the wall. "So, about your office manager? What're they like?"

"Jerome? Good kid, graduated health service administration same year as me, but he went to Ohio State on a football scholarship. Knows his stuff though, and he's not afraid to reign in a doctor. His wife's not bad looking either, she came with him. I might offer her one of the receptionist gigs if they're willing to work together, she's really personable." Deke said, absently joining Aasha in swishing their feet together and apart in V shapes.

"Well that's nice to hear." Aasha said, and reached for the Playstation controller, about to resume her movie, when a tapping rang out through the empty apartment. "That's odd, it sounds like it's coming from the balcony."

Shrugging, Deke got up and meandered into the living space, fully expecting a bird to be the culprit. A bird, however, was not the culprit. Nor was it a plane.

"Kara?" He asked, opening the door to allow the girl in. "We have a regular door you know." He said, giving her a quick glance. Dressed in plain streetclothes, she had the most normal expression on her face, like flying up to a penthouse's balcony and knocking on the glass bay doors was no big deal.

"Sorry, this was faster. STAR Labs said you'd already left for the day, so I called Kal, er Clark, I'll get that straight eventually, and asked him where you lived. Am I interrupting you?" She asked, polite as could be.

"Naw, not at all. Something we can do for you? Babs isn't home for an hour or so yet." Deke offered, heading towards the kitchen and motioning for her to follow him. They didn't have much, but there were at least a few things to eat and drink in the fridge.

"Hopefully yes. I'm going to start attending school and I need to be signed off on by a doctor. Clark said you could possibly help." She asked, though her words paused when she heard a noise, and peered towards the bedroom. "If you were busy, I really do apologize. It wouldn't take much to come back at a better time."

"Kara, we weren't busy. Now, as for this pre-screening. I'd love to take you on as a patient, and I will, but the office isn't open yet. You're a Kryptonian woman living in the influence of a yellow sun, so you're the picture of health, but we can BS the details as long as there's nothing you need to tell me about." Deke said, offering her a bottle of aloe juice.

"Thank you, and no, I haven't experienced anything outside of some kryptonite poisoning, but I got over that pretty quick." Kara offered. "Why do you have an uncomfortable look on your face?"

Well, he never claimed to be anything but transparent. "That's good to hear, but I have to ask since you're at the age I need to know. Are you active?" he said, wishing Superman's cousin wasn't the first person he had to ask that question.

"I'm very active. I fly everywhere I go when I get a chance, Clark has helped me learn better control of my powers so I was considering cheerleading, and that means making it look like I'm keeping in shape, and you still have that uncomfortable look. You meant sex, didn't you?" Kara asked, feeling rather uncomfortable too.

Deke nodded and took a deliberate sip of his own aloe juice, giving her a chance to answer. "No, I'm not interested in sex right now. I'm sure I'll get all of the standard lectures about it so we can maybe skip that part?"

"Gladly." Deke said, and heard Aasha giggle from the doorway. He gave her a look of faux impatience at her impish grin, picked up what she wanted, and in response to that, sent a box of crackers floating towards her.

"Thank you love, back to the cave with this troll then." She said, taking the box of crackers with her.

"I like her." Kara offered, watching her go. "I like how she lives. You've surrounded yourself with admirable women. On Krypton, you'd be considered wise for it."

"Maybe by that definition." Deke quipped. "Anything else you need to mention? I'll have to have you in the office to repeat that about a dozen more times in one visit, but it helps to be prepared."

"No, I'm a normal, functioning Kryptonian girl living under a yellow sun. About what you'd expect. There is one more thing though." Kara said, and grabbed him by the arms, shooting out of the apartment at a rate of speed he thought he'd never achieve in his life.

It was so fast, in fact, that before he could even really decide how to react, he found himself standing in the desert, barefoot, and still in his work clothes.

August 18th  
Las Vegas Nevada  
1100 PST  
Fifteen months after the quake

"Well shit." Deke grumbled, drawing the profanity into about thirty syllables. He still had his phone and his smartwatch, meaning he could get back home in no time flat, so he wasn't stranded. It mostly meant he was standing there in an extremely hot desert wondering why Supergirl had decided to drop him off here.

Clark had to be his first call, no two ways about it. Digging into his pocket, he reached for his QPhone to make the call, when he heard a sound coming from over a dune. Giving a glance, he saw what had to have been a mirage because the reality was just too unreal.

"Howzit Bruddah!" Liho called, waving wildly at him. "Gotcha!"

"You sonofabitch!" Deke called out, waving back. "Where the hell am I?"

"Vegas brah!" Liho called out, gesturing for Deke to follow him. Instead of burning his feet, Deke lifted himself an inch off the ground and skimmed that direction. Once he crested the dune, he could see the city a little bit off in the distance, but much closer sat a long black Humvee limo.

"Bachelor party?" Deke asked, coming up to the vehicle where Liho was waiting, and already downing a bottle of water.

"Bachelor party."

August 18th  
Gotham City  
1645 EST  
Fifteen months after the quake

It was quiet when Barbara stepped out of the elevator into their apartment. With a sigh, she set her purse down next to Deke's briefcase and ran her fingers across the top of the case, wondering what kind of trouble he was getting into. Her trust in him was implicit, and despite the fact that Dick was involved, she knew her boy knew where home was and what waited for him there. She was firmly convinced that nothing in Sin City could compare.

"Mischief managed." Aasha said in a pert voice, stepping out of the bedroom. She'd put her hair in pigtails, and was dressed comfortably. "I texted Kara the moment I heard the elevator ding, and then called Liho the moment she arrived. As of this moment, our boy's safely in Las Vegas and I'm loving Kryptonian hearing for plans like this."

"Good." Barbara said, enjoying her mischief vicariously. She couldn't get the afternoon off to have a direct hand in things. "So, pigtails huh? How long did you have to entertain him before Kara got here?"

"Oh, I knew better than to get my attention _that_ invested, I just put these in a few minutes ago. I'm having my yearly haircut pondering is all." Aasha replied, taking her girlfriend's hand and gently guiding her into the bedroom.

"Are you regretting not getting your attention so invested? Was last night not enough dirty lesbian sex for you?" Barbara asked with a snicker, but still following her small girlfriend all the same. "Because if it wasn't, I don't know what else I can do for you, I've got so much to do tonight it isn't funny."

"Oh you're right about that." Aasha said cryptically. "But no, last night filled my girl quota. I need your help with something while you do whatever."

"I'll probably be happy to help then. What do you need?" Barbara asked, sitting herself down. She watched Aasha dig into her suitcase and withdraw a pair of dresses. "I don't know which one I want to wear. The off-white one is certainly seasonal and all, but if I'm not careful, my bottom tends to hang out of it. The pink and gold is cute, but it makes me look smaller up top than I already am, and I don't need to second-guess my boob job for the thousandth time."

Barbara pondered the choices laid out before her, letting her analytical mind take over. The pink dress _really_ wasn't cut for a smaller busted girl if she wanted to feel good about what she had. The white one would be a nightmare to keep clean, and then the butt problem, which Barbara supposed didn't _have_ to be a problem. "Ash, I'd be in the same dilemma. Do you maybe want to tell me what you plan on wearing this to? It'd certainly help me to help you."

"Oh, I'm going out for drinks later is all." Aasha replied, staring daggers into her two choices, and then deciding to muck things up further by tossing a simple black cocktail dress with a diagonal slash of blue running from her leftie to her right hip.

"Drinks? Should I be jealous?" Barbara asked, arching a red eyebrow at her girlfriend.

"I should hope not. Not with the company I'll be with." Aasha retorted as though it were the silliest thing to think about, ever. "No, I hate the pink one, I can't even recall why I bought it."

"Because it fit?" Barbara offered, knowing how much trouble she had in finding clothes, and not really being able to imagine the difficulty it must be when the girl looking is a hair under five feet tall.

"Bugger, yes, that's exactly why. Damn it all. You know what, I'm not looking for any more male attention than I already get, so we'll scratch the white. I'll wear the black one." Aasha said, plopping herself down on the bed to inspect the aforementioned dress. She hadn't wore it in over a year. "C'mon, play dress-up with me." She said after a minute, tugging at Barbara's arm.

"Aasha, baby, I have so much to do." Barbara argued, still having a beast of a list ahead of her, giving her yet more reason to just do the civil ceremony and jaunt off to Hawaii, where the only plans that would need made were if there would be lovemaking before, during, or after sunset.

"Babs please." Aasha whined plaintively. "You've been stellar in the bedroom lately but I have emotional needs too you know. We haven't really played at anything in ages."

"Oh that's a low blow right there missy." Barbara said, defeated. She wasn't winning this one and she knew it. "Alright, I'll play dress-up with you. When'd you turn into such a little, anyways?"

"When it gets me my way?" Aasha admitted with a red face. "Here, you look amazing in this dress." She said, stepping into the walk-in closet and pulling out a black and purple sundress with yellow accents. Barbara undressed out of her work clothes, going ahead and changing her underwear out for something more festive while she was at it.

"You only say that because I was a full cup smaller when I bought this one. I had this before Deke and I started dating. Ash, now that I think of it, this is the dress I wore on my first official date with him." Barbara said, smoothing the dress out but still feeling pretty wearing it, once she got a look in the mirror.

"Well that's fortuitous. Shall we do makeup next?" Aasha asked, finally shimmying into her own dress.

"Yeah, what are we shooting for? Slutting, clubbing, raving, girl's night?" Barbara asked, starting to feel more festive about the situation given Aasha's pure enthusiasm on the matter.

"Let's go with clubbing, but I'm thinking somewhere we can sparkle a bit, not a vodka and energy drink kind of vibe." Aasha said thoughtfully.

"I don't do sparkle that often." Barbara countered truthfully. She was much more the smoky femme fatale type.

"So, do it with me!" Aasha argued again, still so enthusiastic. "We'll sparkle together."

"Okay, okay, let's sparkle." Barbara replied, grabbing her kit and popping it open. They applied their makeup quietly, going about the task with an efficiency borne of practice. As Aasha had all but begged, Barbara went with a sparkly look, wearing more glitter than the strippers her boy would be getting an eyeful of later.

"There, how's this?" Barbara asked, her eyes done in a glittering peacock green, while her lips were done to match. Aasha had gone with dark kohl, but true to her word, had included enough shiny overlays to make up for it.

"We're awesome. Now for a picture." Aasha said, cuddling up into Barbara, and handing the taller woman her phone. "We should take a couple."

"Okay, sure, that's doable." Barbara said agreeably. She brought Aasha's phone up, lined up a shot, and committed her thumb to hitting the shutter, before she realized she wasn't looking at Aasha's phone. The icons were all replaced with arcane looking sigils, and the screen was showing a distorted version of their bedroom, despite how clear the picture of the two girls were.

"Gotcha." Aasha said devilishly, the moment she heard the shutter tone, and the world began swirling around them.


	24. Chapter 24 Dancing with the Vigilantes

August 18th  
Miami Florida  
1730 EST  
Fifteen months after the quake

"Bienvienidos a Miami!" Barbara heard, when she turned to look at Zatanna. She, Cassie, Maddie, Ingrid, Pacifica, Bette, Artemis, M'gann, Karen, Raquel, Helena, and no, there was no way Dinah was with them. No, she was there, that was Black Canary with the rest of them, all crowded into a limousine, all of them dressed for adventure.

"Oh Lord, things are going to get wild, aren't they?" Barbara said, giving Aasha a tart look for the whole setup and getting an endearingly sweet look in return.

"They'd better." Maddie said, passing Barbara a bottle of champagne. "I signed on for wild. If I'm still wearing my underwear tomorrow then I've failed us all."

"For some of us, that's a mercy." Dinah said, wondering if she should have done this. Despite having no more than seven years on most of the girls in the limo, the difference couldn't have been more apparent.

"I'll handle your share of bad behavior." Helena offered to Dinah. "Joys of having someone who's afraid to commit. They don't much mind when you act out."

"Well, okay, we've got some wild children." Artemis said, leaning into Barbara. "But seriously Red, I didn't make any plans for us to get too out of hand. I thought we'd hit a concert or something, definitely a quality dinner first though. Ash said you probably wouldn't have a whole lot of time to eat."

"Wild was never my thing. Dancing though, Artemis, I want to dance." Barbara said honestly, letting that particular desire out without a care in the world for how much she really wanted it. "I haven't been able to go dancing in so long. I love him, God I love him so much, but he just can't."

"I know Red. Zee and I figured you'd wanna, so she's going to see if there's any kind of dancehall act playing." Artemis said, and as it to cement the point, Zatanna was in fact skimming over something on her phone, clearly looking for a specific thing.

"I don't want to sound like I'm regretting anything." Barbara said, putting her hand on Artemis' knee.

"Red, I never thought you did. Wally used to try to drag me to this video arcade in Palo Alto, it was like the last real stand-up machine arcade there, and I just, it was never one of my aptitudes I guess. He never said he regretted anything. Just take it to mean there's always going to be a reason for us in your life." Artemis said after a minute, deciding her rule about mentioning Wally could be broken for something like this.

"There always will be, for all of you. Thanks for doing this, and Maddie, you have to know your questionnaire isn't going to get done tonight, right?" Barbara said to her assembled friends.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I sent that to you to distract you. Don't worry about it, we filled it out for you while we waited on Ash to get you dressed. M'gann and I know your boy well enough we could answer for him, and we've got a pretty good handle on you too." Maddie said, but she was interrupted by Bette passing over a box.

"Oh yeah, thanks chick. Here's your pageantry and shit. I figured you didn't want the 'bride-to-be' thong, so we're saving it for the next one."

Barbara opened the box and saw a tiara, sash, and all manner of other gaudy bachelorette accessories, and could only shake her head at them. "If you think I'm wearing these." She began.

August 18th  
Las Vegas Nevada  
1845 PST  
Fifteen months after the quake

"You'd be wrong bro." Deke said to Liho, punctuating his point with a poke into the air with his fork. "Everyone thinks she has to have the pants on, but she's like the tide. If she's demanding something over here, she's giving something up over there. She's so into equality that it makes it hard for me to just do something nice."

"I tried telling you." Dick explained, giving a glance around the private dining room of the restaurant they'd decided to unleash themselves upon. "She was always like that. The first time I didn't accept her help up from getting knocked on the mat, she got so pissed at me I thought I was going to have to hide. You can tell from her articles too."

"We used to read her stuff out loud at the Hacienda, when everybody over." Liho said, and gave Kris a glance. It had been his idea, and had turned into their own personal story time. When Maddie had insisted on juice boxes every time Barbara published an article, that had pretty much cemented it as tradition.

"It turned into quite the thing." Kris said, eating his pasta carefully. He still wasn't used to his beard, and didn't want to be the one wearing anything in it. "How's the West Coast treating you, by the way?" he asked, giving Tim a glance.

"It's really good actually. Business has been booming, but it's not been anything we can't handle. The uh, _new guy_ has been great, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets transferred to the main office before too long." Tim replied, referencing Cyborg. The man's cybernetics had put him well out of the Titan's league, leaving him there to learn teamwork and accountability more than getting good enough to hang with the big dogs.

"Yeah, and about that. Kori's coming out that way for a while. Ms. Lance recommended it, and Kori seems to feel like it might be the best thing for her." Dick said to his antecessor. "So, be ready for anything when she shows up."

"You're talking about that young lady from _out of town_ , right?" Will asked, keeping the conversation off of the bachelor long enough for the man to eat at least a little bit of his dinner.

"Yeah. She went through some rough stuff last year. This ought to give her some direction. Heaven knows she needs it, and a hobby too." Dick said. Getting out of the apartment for a weekend to Vegas was exactly what the doctor had ordered after living with her for almost eight months. "Don't get me wrong, she's great, but she gets bored quick."

"Oughta think that mean good for you brah." Liho said with a snicker. "Mine about the same, and she kinda a homebody when she get the chance. Mean there ain't much do."

"All of Oahu, and she wants to sit around?" Kris said, surprised. "I'll admit my last visit, I didn't do much, but I had a reason, and I intend to remedy my mistake. She seems so excited to explore, I never would have guessed she prefers to stay in."

"Yeah, no matter what I say, she think her English bad and she don't like going out by herself." Liho remarked. "I try tell her she speak better English than me."

"Liho, you want my advice?" Will asked, leaning around Deke to more properly address him. Liho turned and gave him an open look, so Will decided to go on. "She won't believe you because she thinks you're obligated to tell her what she wants to hear. So, give her a reason she can't avoid. You said you two were doing charity work on the islands, right?"

"Yeah, we doin' cultural preservation." Liho answered around a mouthful of steak.

"Okay, next time you're both out doing whatever that needs, lemme know. I'll call you and give you a reason to sneak off for a half-hour. Any less and she isn't being put to the test. Any more and she'll feel bailed on, and that's no good. Let her see she can handle it and I bet things'll change." Will recommended, a suggestion which drew respectful nods from the other men at the table.

"Once again," Kris began, but Liho, Deke, and Will interrupted him, talking in unison, and all over him.

"This is why I don't date."

"Yes, exactly that." Kris said, unfazed.

August 18th  
Miami Florida  
2045 EST  
Fifteen months after the quake

"Okay, tequila's good and all, and vodka's classic, but I'm telling you girls, I've got the cure for what ails you right here." Ingrid said, revealing the reason she'd brought such a massive purse. The mob of women were strolling down South Beach, taking in the sights as they headed towards the club.

"You've got molly?" Helena asked, but the looks she drew kept her from going any further. "It was a joke, seriously people. What do you have?"

Ingrid shook her head and produced a plain glass bottle with a soft yellow liquid. "This, ladies, is the nectar of the Gods. I know one of you will argue that, but no reason to have pantheons clash, is there?"

"That's mead." Aasha said with a hungry gaze, immediately identifying it. "Oh goodness how strong is it?"

"I made it a year ago. It's not distilled though, but it's got a kick." Ingrid said with a devilish twinkle in her ice blue eyes. "If I had to get dolled up, I needed something to give me a reason to enjoy it. Who's in?"

A chorus of agreement met her ears, so they ducked in between a couple of buildings to quickly partake. Miami PD might take a dim view on a mob of women drinking on the streets, of course, then again, they might not, but there was no sense in pushing it. More than one of the women in the group had a criminal record (looking at you Dinah Lance), but there was no reason to advertise it.

The bottle passed between them, M'gann politely refusing, Cassie and Barbara taking it easy, but Artemis and Helena more than covering the other girl's shares, while the rest seemed happy to have a good drink and be done.

"Okay, yeah, I'm going to argue because I have to, but that's really good." Cassie said. "And I've had the actual nectar before. You make that?"

"I do. It's cheap too, but honey's getting more and more expensive. I've still got bottles of the stuff though, you're welcome to one. I can't legally sell it anyway." Ingrid offered, nudging Barbara with the now nearly empty bottle. "One more for the bride to be?"

Barbara sighed, and swigged the last of it. "Ingrid, that stuff is a panty dropper, that's all I'm saying. I'm _so_ glad you didn't bring that to the graduation party."

"Well, hopefully one day it gets put to good use then." Ingrid said, coloring at her friend's words.

"You should name that stuff, seriously." Helena said, licking her lips to get more of the sweet taste. "Panty dropper. Just call it panty dropper and be done."

"Bodice ripper." Dinah suggested out of nowhere.

"Yes!" Bette said with a single, emphatic nod. "Absolutely that! Speaking of, I'm single and it's been a while. Babs, please go get some attention so I can deflect it for you."

"You'll get plenty of your own there blondie." Karen said, admiring the multihued red dress Bette was wearing. Red wasn't her color, but if it were, she'd try borrowing that dress in a heartbeat. It'd definitely get her Mal's attention. "So, you and Babs have been friends a while huh?"

"Yeah, I've known her longer than anyone else besides her Dad." Bette said, putting an arm around Barbara's shoulders as they continued their stroll. "I think there's things Ash over there knows better, but still."

Aasha showed the girl her remarkably long tongue but did so warmly, and without malice. She'd never once felt jealous of Bette, who'd been remarkably sweet to her.

"So then, what's your opinion on the mister?" Raquel piped up. As the married woman in the situation, she'd been trying to keep from living vicariously. This subject, however, she could chatter on about.

"Honestly, I like him. I didn't like him with Babs for a while, but we sorted that out. I was shipping her and I shouldn't have been." Bette replied.

"We all did." Zatanna said. "And I dated the guy we were all shipping her with."

Bette paused and blinked. "Wait, seriously, you dated him too?"

"It's not that exclusive a club, girls." Barbara said with a snort. His behavior had bothered her for years now, and she'd brought it up on well more than one occasion. She was just grateful that it hadn't rubbed off on Tim. "I'll give him, he's got good taste though."

"She's kissing our asses, she wants something." Maddie said, leaning towards Cassie, who nodded sagely in agreement. "She'd get better results if she used some tongue while she was there."

"Wow, nothing changes with you, does it?" Cassie asked, her eye getting drawn to the 'scenery' of South Beach more than once. If she wasn't already attending NYU, Miami would have been a wonderful backup, she decided.

"Yes and no. My brain's still hardwired to want sex, but I've actually kept myself in pretty solid check. I'll tell you about it later." Maddie said, trusting the younger woman but not so much Miss Martian, Bumblebee, Rocket, and Zatanna, due to a lack of familiarity.

August 18th  
Las Vegas Nevada  
2300 PST  
Fifteen months after the quake

"So y'all, I uh, I've never been to a titty bar." Deke admitted as they walked up to the place, all covered in neon and advertisements for their guest dancers. "Is there protocol or something?"

"No touching, tip fairly, and act like you were raised right." Will suggested, running his fingers through his hair. "You and Liho are going to get your hair pulled though, and Kris, your beard's definitely getting tugged, so be ready for that. Also, no mentioning the Groom's a doctor, or else this visit is going to get a lot less pleasant."

"Private dances are worth it, but I doubt you're the type to ask for one. Let us handle everything, you just get to look at naked girls for a while." Dick suggested, giving Tim a glance. Like the groom, he looked nervous as hell.

"You okay bro?" He asked, leaning down to the shorter boy, well, man. He was leading the Titans, he was old enough to drink, and Ra's Al'Ghul had looked him dead in the face and called him Detective, Tim Drake was no longer a boy.

"Yeah, not really my speed, but tomorrow's going to make up for it. I'm good." He said, adjusting his tie and entering the establishment with the rest of the party. His trained eye drew to everything in quick order. Dancers, in various states of undress, milled about. Bouncers with eyes near as watchful as his own. A DJ in the corner, tables full of businessmen and tourists, a trio of bartenders who seemed like they'd had their fill of naked women some time ago.

The moment Liho entered the place though, all those eyes wound up on him. Tim heard someone say NFL, and he didn't find that an unfair estimation at all. Better Liho than him though.

One of the dancers, an exotic mix of African and Asian, waltzed straight up to him too. "You've gotta be the important guy here, am I right?" she asked, appraising the titan of a man quickly.

"Nah, bachelor party for my bruddah behind me." Liho said, feeling his mean streak. "Never been to a strip club before either."

And _that_ had been all the prompting necessary. Within the absolute shortest of order, the men had found themselves at a table, with several of the dancers orbiting around, all before they could even place their drink orders. "Well, this is new and interesting." Deke said, feeling hellishly bashful for the first time in years.

"You just let us take care of you." A slender little blonde with a Russian accent said. "We're professionals after all."

* * *

Taking care of him had definitely been a word for it. In a whirl of fake breasts, g-strings, and thigh highs, Deke found himself in one of the private dance rooms, not entirely positive how he'd gotten himself there. He was about to push his senses out, try to get an idea of just what in the hell was going on, when the door opened.

"Hi," the dancer said, a raven haired Middle Eastern stunner with ice blue strips and a physique so close to Maddie's it was almost uncomfortable. Almost. "I'm Kaze. Your friends out there really care about you."

"Yeah, they're solid." Deke replied, trying desperately to sound cool. He was a doctor, a member of the Justice League, he drove a beautiful piece of classic muscle, and he lived with two gorgeous women. Feeling cool should come much easier.

"I like doing bachelor parties." Kaze said, casually adjusting the girls and smoothing her stockings before she set about her mission. "A lot of girls do, I should mention, but they just like sending the guys home to their new brides with them on their minds. Not me, I like celebrating with them. Got a picture of her before your songs start?"

Finding her honesty and openness refreshing, Deke dug his phone out of his pocket, opened the gallery, and pulled up a picture he'd taken of her a couple of days ago. "Here you go." He said, offering the dancer his phone.

"Oh wow, what are you even doing here?" Kaze said, taking half a second to listen to the song playing, so she could judge how much time she had. "You're marrying a serious hottie, damn."

Deke nodded with a goofy grin. "Yeah, I really am."

"Well, let's get things going then. That seat reclines, by the way, feel free." She said, offering him his phone back. "Your big friend picked the songs, so if you don't like them, blame him, but I promise, I'm a pro, you'll enjoy the performance."


	25. Chapter 25 The Aftermath

August 18th  
Miami Florida  
2345 EST  
Fifteen months after the quake

The very upbeat sounds of Caribbean Dancehall music permeated the massive nightclub, inspiring even the worst of dancers to get up and move, but Barbara Gordon was not the worst of dancers. With a level of grace and balance that seemed almost supernatural, and the kind of coordination that people would kill to have, she had her rather shapely ass moving just right, and had been all night.

The danger had been in the sheer amount of people trying to buy her drinks. Having lost the battle of having to wear the Bride-To-Be sash and tiara, it was pretty plain what she was out to do, and so many had wanted to celebrate with her. Some, moreso than others, but Ingrid had been of incredible help in that regard. Most people didn't want to mess with her, given her arms weren't much smaller than the professional meatheads who came to the club to score.

"You know, I say this all the time, but damn if she isn't the hottest thing I've ever seen." Maddie said to Helena and Bette. "I mean seriously, how the hell does she do it?"

"She has a tighter hold on her diet than anyone I've ever met, she works out constantly, and her mom was really attractive too." Bette commented, sipping at her appletini. "And it's funny, she doesn't flaunt it often. I'd kill to have her boobs, I really would."

"I pretty much have her boobs, but I'd kill for that ass." Helena replied. "We've had this conversation before, amusingly enough, and Bette's right. If I had it all like that, I'd probably never wear clothes. Babs though, she just kinda _is_ , you know?"

"Yeah, I know, believe me. Look, between us, they're going to have some gorgeous kids." Maddie said, letting her eyes linger over another club patron, trying to decide if she really wanted to go after it or not. "Really, either flavor and they're set."

Bette nodded. "I don't want kids, but I'll happily spoil hers." She said with a snicker, imagining it.

"I said the same thing." Aasha commented, stepping in between them and smiling at the bartender, but not before showing her stamped hand to prove she was legally old enough to drink.

"So, how's that going to go?" Bette asked, leveling her gaze at Aasha. "I know you all have that thing going and stuff."

"Bitch." Maddie mumbled, but smiled at Aasha. Her jealousy would never fade where that was concerned.

"Well, right now, nothing changes. I mean, it's a piece of paper and a bit of jewelry. When children come into the picture, I think Auntie Aasha has a ring to it. I adore children though, I really do." Aasha said, sliding the bartender a few extra for his prompt service, and then taking a sip of her vodka.

"It's true, she's great with mine." Maddie said honestly. "I don't trust many people with him, but Ash is one of them. I'd rather he be around her than my grandmother, that's for damn sure. He might not turn out racist and elitist this way."

"You've got a kid?" Helena asked. Bette knew, of course, she'd met him, but that wasn't her business to share.

Maddie nodded. "Yeah, he's with the sitter tonight."

"Is that tricky, with the life?" Helena asked, furthering her gentle interrogation. "And more than that, is it hard to, y'know, have company?"

"I'm reserve. I only get called out for extreme emergencies, which means I haven't done anything since the quake. As for company, yeah, but I'm trying, so getting some dick on occasion isn't as important. Though, speaking of sitters and dick, tonight sounds like an excellent opportunity to get some of that." Maddie said, returning to her prowl in earnest.

August 19th  
Las Vegas Nevada  
0145 PST  
Fifteen months after the quake

Deke tossed a couple of chips towards the dealer, and pushed several more into the pot, before giving his cards a final glance. Pocket tens and chasing the full house after a third on the flop. Two of the other players had pure garbage, another was looking for a straight the odds said wasn't coming, and the last was sitting on a pair of queens but getting nothing afterwards. "Last hand." He said quietly. "One way or the other."

"Yeah, we all said that once." Another of the players said, tossing his cards and folding. He had trash, and after posting blind he had no intention of losing anything else on the hand.

"I'm close enough to goal my heart ain't broke. I wanna take a nice little bundle home for the bride-to-be is all." Deke replied. He spared a glance over to the far corner of the room, where Liho and Tim were involved at the roulette table, while Dick and Kris chilled calmly, not wasting their money but enjoying the sights.

"Well, let's push it then." Pair of queens said. "All in."

Without a queen on the river, Deke had the guy. Trash fold had held a third, so that left one in the deck, with the chance of the fourth ten, or another four, nine, or jack to make the full house. But, it was a $3500 all-in, which meant he'd be left with two hundred bucks if he lost. Given that's what he'd walked in with, it was worth it.

The other trash hand folded, and chasing-a-straight's blood wasn't rich enough, leaving Deke to match, which he did with a calm ease. Pair of queens wasn't feeling extremely confident, and was hoping to out-money him. "Call." He said, and waited on the river.

The dealer flipped the last card, showing an ace. Nothing for either of them. "Well, here's me." Deke said, flipping his tens, much to the disappointment of pair of queens, who scowled at his loss.

"Congratulations buddy, hope my money gets her something nice." He grumbled, before Deke dropped a hundred dollar chip in front of the other players.

"Have a few drinks on me." He offered, and looked at the dealer. "Color me up please. I've got an early breakfast tomorrow." He asked, before waving at Dick and Kris.

"A real gambler would give me a chance to win my money back." The guy said. For the first time, Deke had actually gotten a look at the man behind the mind he'd been playing against. Diamond pinkie ring, expensive suit jacket, too-perfect teeth, it was clear he could afford it.

"Yeah, but I've got med school to pay off." Deke lied, accepting his tray of chips from the dealer with a smile and polite nod. He strolled off with Dick and Kris, waiting to get away from the table before piping up.

"Welp, there's my one and only time playing cards for money. It's fun, but people get serious as hell about it." He said with a look that said exactly how he felt about that. "I thought ol' dude was gonna whip my ass afterwards."

"He might yet, he cashed out at the table." Dick replied, using every reflective surface (and there were so, so many) at his disposal to make sure that player wasn't planning to chase them down. "But unless that happens, you're buying breakfast tomorrow, right?"

"Oh hell yeah. I'm up almost three grand past goal. I got breakfast for sure. I only wanted to make about five anyways. Honestly, I was gonna use this for furniture for the apartment, which neither of you gents has yet to come by and check out anyway." Deke said, pointedly at the two men.

"Heh, yeah, about that." Dick began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uhm, Kori thinks I'm carrying some kind of torch for Babs or something after I showed her some of my photo albums. Apparently, where she's from, men and women don't work together long without something happening. It's just their way I guess."

"Oh sheesh, bring her with you then. I'll clear it with la jefa and call you. Kris, you and your beard don't have that excuse, on account of you don't date." Deke said, spotting the cash window and steering himself that way.

"You're right, I don't have that excuse. I'll try and make it over after the honeymoon, though you might be getting ahead of yourself. I think Barbara wanted to throw a housewarming party once you were all settled in. She'd mentioned something about it after graduation." Kris said, absently stroking his beard.

August 19th  
Miami Florida  
0915 EST  
Fifteen months after the quake

"Oh why do I do this to myself?" Aasha grumbled, batting her eyes awake. She winced at a pain in her mouth the moment she said something though, and had to stop talking immediately while she sorted that out. "And when did I pierce my tongue?" she said, much more gingerly, once she realized why her mouth hurt.

"Last night." Maddie said, sitting up next to her. "Same time you got your ears gauged, your nipples pierced, and your bellybutton done. You better keep them too. I had to pretend like this was too much to handle." Holding her hands apart in an approximation of size that seemed perfectly acceptable to be hard to handle so far as Ash was concerned, so for any woman of normal construction, probably not so much.

"I wha?" she said, patting herself gently on the chest and stomach, to learn very quickly that she had, in fact, gotten several holes poked in her body. "Why did you let me do that?"

"Well," Barbara said, strolling into the room in a loose, thin tee shirt and yoga pants. "You kinda came when he pierced your tongue, and asked for more. I think I was as surprised as you were about it."

"Oh dear." Aasha mumbled, coming up out of bed totally and completely nude. "You slept with the piercing artist to pay for those? I didn't bring much money so I couldn't get too sotted."

Maddie nodded. "I was going to anyway, but hey, you got freebies, and you were _so_ insistent. 'I'm sick of looking like a good girl all the time. I need to make a change.' You said." Maddie explained in a horrible imitation of Aasha's accent, sounding more like Hagrid than anything else.

"That's awful Mads." Barbara said, handing Aasha some clothes to put on. "I'd not worry about the bra until you have to if I were you." She suggested, speaking from personal experience. "Rocket, Karen, Zee, M'gann and Dinah had to leave early for League business. Artemis is still asleep in the other room with Cassie and Helena. Ingrid and I were going to wake them for breakfast after Pacifica came in from her morning swim."

"Oh yes please." Maddie said, coming out of bed, similarly nude. "Ash, you were dynamite last night by the way." She said with a look over her shoulder. "I was _not_ disappointed."

Aasha's eyes flew open wide at that, causing her to pause where she stood, hallway into her shirt. "I what now?" she said, her voice squeaking.

"Wow, I'm kidding. About sex anyway, you're cuddly as hell, that wasn't disappointing." Maddie said with a snicker, and an uncharacteristic sweet hug to the small woman. "It was kinda nice."

"She's used to having two people in bed." Barbara said, holding her own giggles back. That _had_ been a cruel joke to play, though at the last Maddie hadn't kept it going. "Spoiled little kitten, that one."

"Mrow." Aasha murmured with a red face. "Yes I am, and I like it. Was I poorly behaved last night though? Seriously?"

"Well, most of us were poorly behaved, that's the point of a bachelorette party, but you weren't too rotten. Aside of orgasming all over the piercer's chair that is. You and I are going to have to have a talk about that one." Barbara said, running a brush through her hair while the other women dressed.

"Later please." Aasha said, not bothering with anything besides a shirt. "Shower?"

"Bette's in the big one, but there's a second one in the balcony floor bathroom. If I'm being a bit greedy, could you wait on the big one though? You'd look adorable in it and I wanna see it." Barbara said, showing Ash the tip of her tongue.

Aasha made a frustrated face, but she couldn't tell Babs no to something that simple, and besides, oversized places made her small stature even more useful. She'd have all the room in the world to do as she liked.

August 19th  
Las Vegas Nevada  
0730 PST  
Fifteen months after the quake

"Dude, I did _not_ mean to bail on you last night." Will said from the couch in the suite, giving Deke a remorseful look. "One thing after another with that croupier and all. Just sorta happened."

"I ain't mad." Deke said, still in a pair of basketball shorts and nothing else. "Long as you had fun, that is."

"Oh yeah, it was fun. We're still doing that desert drive today though, right?" Will asked, watching his teammate go through the morning motions of making coffee in the small kitchenette, and apparently bamboozled by the rather advanced machine which was there to provide it.

"Hell yes. Skydiving down to rail buggies that we've got to drive through the desert, that's really what I signed up for bro." Deke said, stepping out of the way to let Will handle the morning Java.

"Sweet. How'd you do at the tables last night?" He asked, programming the thing and making it look easy.

"I did pretty well. Actually, you were right about us taking a casino too. Between poker and blackjack, we did good. If Kris had hacked the slot machines like you said, and we timed things, well, we wouldn't be welcome in the city afterwards." Deke said, handing Will the first mug.

"Thanks, and yeah, I used to plan how to take casinos. It started as a challenge, and turned into an amusing dream. One of these days, I still hope we have to sneak into one and wreck their take because they're funding some major villain. I keep an eye on that." Will said, taking a sip of his coffee and sighing happily.

"You're not the only one. Batman's got his own plan to do it." Tim said, already dressed and showered before he stepped into the living room of the suite. "It's less fun than your idea though, but it probably works better. I think I'd rather have the fun."

Deke was about to agree, but his phone went off, chiming insistently in his pocket. Grabbing his cup of coffee and putting a mug in for Tim, he dug the mobile device out of his pocket and saw it was a video call from his love. "Gotta take this, sorry guys." He said, and thumbed the accept button as he shuffled through the suite back to the room.

"Hey, look at you awake already." Barbara said pleasantly, having to stow the sleepyhead comment when she saw him looking quite alert, and not at all on a bed. "Got a minute?"

"For you, I have forever." Deke said, and flicked the stand on the back of his phone case, so he could set it down and enjoy his morning joe. "How was last night?"

"Oh I won't soon forget it, and a few of the girls won't soon remember it. I spent almost the entire night dancing, so my feet to my butt are more sore than I'd like." She said, her background shifting around and moving in an obvious show of her getting more comfortable. "We're getting a late breakfast, but I'm waiting on Aasha in the shower before we go, so I thought I'd call you." She added with a bright, sweet smile.

"I need one too. I've got enough smoke in my hair to fog up a concert. Any particularly juicy stories you feel like sharing?" Deke asked, leaning back into the chair in the bedroom, but still avoiding opening the curtains. The view of the strip was amazing, but at that early hour, Vegas wasn't much to look at besides some strangely shaped buildings.

"Oh yeah, a few. None I'm willing to share over the phone though, so you'll have to wait. What about you? Anything exciting on your end?" She asked, her torso moving around enough that Deke guessed she was putting a bra on. "Maybe that lap dance you got?"

He grew red as a beet on that one, and gave an embarrassed snicker. "Heh, yeah, Liho bought me four songs. It was fun, but I like yours better." He said sheepishly.

"I should imagine. You're allowed to touch me." Barbara said with a wink. "Hit the tables at all?"

Deke nodded. "Yeah, Tim cleaned up on blackjack, and I did pretty alright at hold 'em. Before you say anything because I see that face you're givin' me, I didn't go near the high stakes room, and I made sure nobody I cleaned out desperately needed the money."

"Okay, then I'm satisfied. Oh hey, there's Ash, you gotta see this." Barbara said, and on the screen, Deke could see her turn to face towards what he assumed was the door. Barbara smiled and made a beckoning gesture. "C'mere, you gotta show off."

"Oh dear, who is that?" Deke heard, but saw her face poke around the screen after a second. Her expression lit up at that at least. "Hello love!"

"Hey kitten." Deke said warmly. "Babs says I gotta see something."

"Yes you do." Aasha said sheepishly, and stood there while the phone maneuvered, presumably in Barbara's hand, when it suddenly changed, clearly going from front to rear camera. At first it panned down the towel Ash was wrapped in, but after a second, that towel parted, revealing her pierced navel. "Oh, we're not done yet." Aasha said, when she heard him make a surprised noise.

The camera panned up slowly as her towel separated, revealing her smooth, tanned skin, before pausing on her dark peaks, now ornamented with silver barbells. "Still not done." She said, and the camera came up further. Here, she turned her head, a remarkably flattering angle if Deke was being objective, to reveal the small black plugs in her earlobes.

"Geez, gotta call you pincushion." Deke commented, which drew a giggle from both girls, and an exposed tongue from Aasha. "Your tongue too?!" He asked, flustered as hell from it all. He was going to have to wait a couple of minutes before stepping back out into a room full of guys.

"Every time they poked her, she had an orgasm, and it was damn hot. I almost took off with her then and there." Barbara said, flipping the camera back around. "But, the moral of the story is we really can't let her get drunk."

"Noted." Deke said with a snicker. "Oh, hey, Papi texted me earlier. He got into Miami from Cuba earlier and I might have said you were down there for your bachelorette party. He'd like to see you if you have time."

Barbara blushed, loving the welcomed feeling she got from the Delgados. "Yeah, I'll text him and he can join us for breakfast. What was he in Cuba for, anyway?"

"I have an uncle I've never met, well, I have a couple, but one of them had passed. Papi was busy trying to help the family get sorted." Deke explained.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry." Barbara said, her sunny mood darkening at the news.

"I never met him, and apparently, Papi and César hadn't gotten along since ninety-two or something. I never got the details but I think it involved both of them chasing Mami. Anyway, yeah, he's down there now. He likes long layovers so his flight to Lexington doesn't even take off till just after midnight. He's a grand explorer if you give him enough space to do it."

"Well, we're almost dressed. I'll text him and tell him he's perfectly welcome to join us." Barbara said. Deke could see a small hand on her shoulder, and Barbara looked up and over. "But, I'm not pushing Ash away for this either."

Deke nodded. "Mami's the one I'm worried about. Papi'd just hand me a beer and a Cohiba and tell me I'm doing something right. You do you babe. I love you."

"I love you too Cowboy." Barbara said, and got unceremoniously shoved out of the way.

"And we all love you too!" Maddie said, leaning into the frame.


	26. Chapter 26 Preparing for Jitters

September 1st  
Gotham City  
1700 EST  
Sixteen months after the quake

For several days, the level of activity in the penthouse had been at a record high. Between furniture being delivered, final preparations, getting work in order, and an all-hands-on-deck League emergency involving a rampaging meteor infected powerhouse, it seemed like there was wasn't a single bit of progress being made.

"We're going to be late!" Barbara yelled into the bedroom, hastily swapping her earrings out. "How long does it take to get dressed, seriously? I laid your outfit out last night."

"I don't fit into these pantyhose any longer; I think my legs and my bum have gotten bigger." Aasha shouted back.

"That's what happens when you do a bunch of squats Ash!" Bette called to her, currently sitting on the sofa, casually painting her nails. She'd been dressed and ready for almost an hour, and had nothing else to do but have some fun with the polish. "You're the one that wanted the ghetto booty."

"I just wanted a butt worth mentioning, thank you!" Aasha said, hopping out of the bedroom while hastily tugging on a pair of black thigh highs that were usually reserved for much less public purposes. "Not a word about the lingerie, please and thank you."

"No complaints." Barbara said, deciding they actually looked better with Ash's longer black dress than the hosiery she'd set out. "Where's my mister anyway? Wasn't he in there with you?"

"Bathroom, last I noticed, which makes no sense. He bathed and I took care of his stubble before you got home." Aasha said thoughtfully. "You don't think he's having an extended visit when we're about to leave, do you?"

"He better not, or I'll knock it out of him. We can't be late to our own rehearsal." Barbara said, slipping her feet into her shoes and turning towards the master suite.

"Cowboy, we're waiting on you!" She called out, but stopped dead when the bathroom door opened. "What kept you?"

"I hated that tie, I'm sorry babe." He said, pulling the door to the bedroom closed behind him before he smoothed the lapels on his suit jacket.

"Okay, that's fair, but we're gonna be late if we don't hurry. Fourth island traffic is still getting itself figured out, and the city planners didn't foresee the exodus out to the new construction." Barbara reminded him.

"Yeah, I've really got to get a more fuel efficient car." Deke grumbled, joining the women in the elevator, and thumbing the button for the parking garage. "The Chevelle hates sitting at red lights."

"But we look _so_ cool." Aasha countered. "Please don't get a minivan."

"Or a Benz, don't be that kinda doc." Bette said frankly. "Seriously, think outside the box."

"I think I've got a while before I have to worry about buying a Benz. Online consults don't pay that much, and pediatrics is the one specialty that gets paid like a basic care provider. I'm never gonna be rich."

"Together, we'll do okay though." Barbara said with a smile. "And no, no minivans, period. No SUV's for that matter. I will never be a soccer mom, never, ever."

"It's a relief to hear that Babs, it really is." Bette said, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "But you're putting the cart before the horse again. Remember, rehearsal, then the dinner, then tomorrow's the civil at nine, and the big one at seven. One hurdle at a time, remember?"

Barbara took a deep breath and clasped hands with her boy and her girl. "One hurdle at a time, yeah."

* * *

The dining room at the Gotham Yacht Club, despite being warned, still seemed woefully unprepared when the massive gathering of people stepped into the place, hungry and ready to have a good time. The looks on the faces of the servers alone, when twenty people entered, were both priceless and deserving of pity.

If they only knew that close to eighty percent of the people in that party possessed some manner of superpowered endowment or another, those looks of surprise would have doubled quickly.

"Excuse me." Jim said, standing up after everyone seemed to have gotten through their main course. When the attention came to him, he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I won't be the bag of wind that addresses the new recruits at the Academy. I just hoped that I'd be around to see this day, and I'm so happy to see all of you here for my daughter. It was just me and her for so long, father and daughter against the world. Now, here she is, got her PhD, getting her husband, already moving into the dream house. I couldn't, excuse me, I couldn't, damn it all, just a minute."

He sniffed and wiped under his glasses in as manly a manner as possible, and smiled at his daughter. "I couldn't ask for the people that surround her, support her, and make this world livable where I can't. Thank you all for coming out."

Barbara daubed at her own eyes with a napkin, though the tender moment only served to make her ocean blue eyes sparkle. She smiled at her dad, got up from her seat, and walked around to him, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and squeezing. She planted a kiss on his cheek too, careful not to smear lipstick, and whispered an 'I love you' into his ear before taking her seat back.

"Okay, tough act to follow," Hector said, not bothering to stand up. He would _not_ steal the thunder of the father of the bride. That's just not the kind of bastard he was. "But, all the same, when Cheryl passed, Maria and I took Deacon in without a second thought. He was ours in everything but name anyway. I'm proud of him, and here's Maria wiping her eyes and agreeing with me. I know your parents would have loved being here, and we feel honored to stand in their stead. Salud, para mijo, y mija. Bienvienidos a la familia."

"Salud." Deke replied, raising his glass of wine, and quickly joined by the rest of the party. "Gracias Papi, gracias Mami. Eres muy dando, y yo gracias para todo."

Hector nodded a man's single nod, before turning to comfort his wife. Her emotions ran deep, and strong, there was no doubt about it.

There were a few more words, quiet little things shared, and more than a few stories that were hastily edited for public repetition. During that time, one of the servers walked over and leaned into Barbara's ear, which drew the eyes of the gathered people.

"So, apparently, before he slipped out with his date, our little get together caught the attention of Bruce Wayne, who was kind enough to pay for our dinner, on the condition that we order dessert, so apparently we're all going to have a time fitting into our clothes tomorrow." She announced to the party, which brought a polite applause and a few restrained cheers. They weren't exactly alone in the place after all, but having their tab covered at one of the most expensive restaurants in Gotham City was wonderful news. Granted, this wasn't a surprise to Barbara, who'd gotten a call from Bruce weeks ago telling her he'd do such a thing, but she wasn't about to spoil that one.

"To Bruce Wayne then." Deke said, raising a glass, hoping the Bat was still in listening range. "And the example of generosity and kindness he's set."

* * *

"Guys, I can take off if you've got plans or something." Bette said, stepping out of their (quite empty) guest bedroom, now in much more comfortable clothing, with her dress back in the garment bag and draped over her arm. "I don't want to intrude or anything."

"You're not intruding, we're not a pack of bunnies." Barbara said to her oldest friend. "In fact, I have an ulterior motive for asking you to leave out and come back with us." She added conspiratorially.

"Oh? This _isn't_ some weird sex thing?" Bette asked, showing Barbara the tip of her tongue. "Seriously, what's up?"

Exiting the bedroom, similarly dressed much more comfortably, was Deke, who offered up an answer. "You're Babs' longest friend, and you said it yourself, it was you and her for like, ever. So, since I've got to leave for the night, I thought you two might wanna have yourselves an evening together. I've got everything in the fridge for sundaes, we got a flyer for a new pizza place that opened two blocks away on the fridge, and there's a bottle of pinot on the counter, but don't hold it against me if it's not very good. I'm crap at picking wine."

"So, slumber party then?" Bette asked, giving Barbara an amused look.

"If you want. I've got to kick the mister out, so he's going to their base for the night, and Ash volunteered to go with him to give us the apartment. It'd be like old times, and I really wanted to have a night, just the two of us." Barbara said, leaning against the sofa.

"Okay, my arm's twisted. It's gotta be better than going home to an empty apartment. What's the going rate for rent in this place anyway?" Bette asked, giving the penthouse a glance.

"We're buying, so I have no idea. I could put you in touch with the building super though. There's still plenty of vacant apartments, and you'd be at WGTM in half the time." Barbara suggested. "So, ice cream and a marathon of The Originals, or wine and we make fun of reality tv?"

"Wine and bad jokes. We've got this Deke, have a good night." Bette said, waving him off. She had business to attend with her best friend.

"Yeah, good night, sleep tight, and don't be late tomorrow, I don't want to be waiting at the altar." Barbara said, placing a long kiss on her boy. "Ash gated while you were changing, she's waiting at the Hacienda for you with everyone."

"Okay, have fun. I love you, Dr. Gordon." Deke said, giving her a kiss in return.

"I love you, Dr. O'Connelly." Barbara replied, nuzzling noses with him.

September 1st  
Destin Florida  
2130 CST  
Sixteen months after the quake

"Recognize Mustang, E zero three." The Zeta system spoke, announcing his arrival to the rest of the place. Expecting Ash, Will, and Ingrid, he was surprised to see the entirety of the Movers, sitting in the living space and apparently waiting patiently on him.

"Damn y'all." He muttered. "Hi."

"Hey Bruddah. Big day tomorrow, but tonight, we thought you wanna maybe have a good chill with your family." Liho offered. "Offset the excitement and all."

"That sounds awesome as hell bro." Deke said, strolling over to the kitchen island and hanging his tux off a barstool. "Let's do that. What's your plan?"

"There's drinks in the cooler on the roof, the stereo's set to the classic rock station, and we've got all the time in the world. Benefits to being a reserve team." Kris said. "So, let's head up there and waste a few hours with an ocean breeze."

"Absolutely." Deke said. "Lemme just drop the tux off in my room."

"I've got that." Aasha said, moving towards him in a hurry, and taking the garment bag from him with a sweet smile. "You go on up."

So, that's exactly what he did. The Movers took themselves up the stairs and out onto the rooftop patio and garden, where the overlarge cooler was indeed sitting there, full of drinks, a frosty craft cherry cola finding its way into Deke's hand in short order.

"Your union tomorrow is exciting to me. No Atlantean has ever had participation in a surface ceremony before. I will be asked several questions about it when we return to Poseidonis for the seasonal court gathering." Pacifica said, seeming almost as excited as Deke was for his wedding.

"Well, hopefully, things go smooth and you'll have good stories to tell. We're happy to have you come too. There's dancing afterwards, and from what I hear, you ain't bad at it." Deke said, smiling when Aasha came up and curled up next to him on one of the love seats.

"She's positively amazing is what she is. Maddie, what was it you said about her?" Aasha said, looking towards the woman, who was currently only half paying attention, her eyes glued to her QPad.

"Huh? Pacifica, yeah, chick can move. Sorry guys, I'm going over confirmation emails with a fine toothed comb. Since this is a legit big wedding going on, I want to make sure everything looks good for my portfolio." Maddie said, fretting every last detail. It was her job to sweat so the bride didn't have to, and she legitimately liked the bride in this case.

"Mads, you're killin' it." Deke said, giving her a telekinetic squeeze on the shoulder.

"Little lower Mustang." Maddie said absently, giving him a smirk and a wink.

"So, I heard a few of the Titans were willing to pitch in for security, since there's going to be so many of the League there." Will said, opening a beer and handing it to Liho, before opening his own. "Blue Beetle and Raven?"

"Yeah," Kris said. "Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, and Martian Manhunter are only staying for the wedding itself. Black Canary is still hanging out for the dastardly plot we've put into motion, but she probably can't stay much after that. Wonder Woman seems committed though. She said something about finding the pageantry fascinating. Oh, speaking of her, Maddie, is there empty space at any of the reception tables?"

"Yeah, if Bats and Big Blue are clearing out, I've got room, why?" Maddie asked, quickly pulling up the seating chart to see where she could put a last minute guest.

"Wonder Woman wanted to bring a plus one after all if she was able to. Barbara said she was perfectly okay with it." Kris said, and giving Deke a knowing look to respond to the curiosity he was receiving. "She's bringing a Themysciran guest who wants to see what a wedding is like as well. I think you know her, Mustang. Alexa, her name is."

"Alexa, a sister-from-another-mister." Deke said with a grin. "Hell yeah. She's cool as can be."

"I can put her in between Vixen and Superboy. Mari's well behaved, and Superboy's considered Brethren of Themyscira too, so she'll feel comfortable." Maddie said. "Guys, I think I might be halfway decent at this."

"I'm not arguing. There's no way I could figure all of this out." Ingrid said, opening the lid on one of her mead bottles and drinking straight from it, though it would have surprised nobody if she'd produced a drinking horn too. "You're going to love her dress, by the way. I don't like ringing my own bell, but I think I've made a masterpiece."

"Careful, you might wind up getting more requests for work." Aasha said. "I've seen it, and I want to commission a few from you. I don't know where you dreamed that dress up, but it's absolutely breathtaking."

Ingrid colored red at Aasha's words. "Thank you Ash. I just wanted a friend to feel beautiful on her big day. I'm shite with suits though, sorry buddy." She said, glancing at Deke.

"No problem, I don't mind at all." Deke said, fiddling with the volume on the radio so they had tunes, but they weren't so loud they'd have to yell. "And guys, all y'all, thank you."


	27. Chapter 27 Unity

**AN:** Only a couple more chapters left. I'm in the process of working on book seven, tentatively titled "To Bind the Aethers", as we speak. As always, if you like, please leave a review!

* * *

September 2nd

Gotham City  
1100 EST  
Sixteen months after the quake

Deke stood on the steps of the Gotham courthouse, at lunchtime in the city, dressed in a tuxedo and flanked by his adoptive parents and his brand new father in law. All three of the parents were similarly dressed to the nines, while some of the worst Gotham had to offer walked into the place in orange, or out of the place in suits, more than a couple of them shooting Jim some dirty glances.

"Cost of doing business." Jim quipped. "Look, there's something I've wanted to get off my chest, if you two don't mind." He added, turning his attention to Hector and Maria.

"Of course, what is it?" Hector asked. Jim didn't seem upset or annoyed, more puzzled. "We're related now, you might as well."

"Maria, and I feel like an ass for saying this, but has anyone ever told you that you look like," Jim began, before Maria snickered and cut him off.

"Gloria Estefan? Not as much as I used to, but when I was younger, all the time. You're not an ass for asking." Maria said, patting him on the arm. "It's nice when someone notices on occasion. Speaking of noticing things, Hector, you have the rings, right?"

He nodded and pulled them out of his coat. "That young woman is very talented. These are very nice bands. What are they made from?"

Deke leaned over and pointed at the pair of rings in the wide box. "Silver, with a band of Damascus steel from the Russian meteor and metal from a source I can't reveal. She said it wasn't much to make them, but there's no way I could do it."

Jim's phone chirped and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Okay, that's Bette, they're ready at the chapel across the street." He said, and pointed towards the small building that opposed the courthouse both physically and spiritually. The courthouse was an ominous edifice in the old Gotham arc deco gothic style, while the small chapel was clean, kept, and cheerful, and tucked between two larger buildings, though to the left was a divorce lawyer, and the other was a bail bondsman. Welcome to Gotham City.

Together, they walked across the street and into the place, which on the inside was nothing more than a large room full of chairs, a small lectern, and a simple white arch with artificial flowers. Something about the place told Deke this was probably just as satisfying to Barbara as the big ceremony they were doing for show.

At the lectern was an older gentleman, mostly balding, with a chubby but cheerful face. "Please, come this way." He said, gesturing towards them. "Your bride is just in the changing room, she'll be entering from the left in just a minute, and might I say, she's a beautiful young woman."

"Thank you sir." Deke said, a bit red in the face for Barbara's sake. "I'm lucky as they come."

The music, Pachebel's Canon, began playing, courtesy of a sweet looking older woman sitting by a small stereo setup. It was enough to catch Deke's attention, and send Jim and Hector down the aisle. Bette exited first, offered Hector her arm with a warm smile, and together they walked up the aisle to take their places. A few more measures of the song played, before Deke's jaw hit the floor, and hard.

With her hair pinned up into a beautiful crimson waterfall, Barbara stepped from around the door and towards her father, a simple bouquet in hand. Her dress though, it really was the perfect frame for the work of art that was Barbara Gordon, there were no two ways about it.

It was a simple, strapless dress, with a modestly low cut top, that cinched to her torso with white string in a style similar to a corset. It was long but narrow, coming up to her ankles, and cut up both thighs, exposing a thin gossamer material beneath that flared and swished beautifully. The sleeves were interesting though, as they attached to no other part of the dress, mimicking the laced up sides of the gown like shoulder length gloves, only being belled sleeves instead. All of it was pristine white linen, and it looked absolutely comfortable in addition to being just as Ingrid promised. Barbara could _definitely_ fight in it if necessary.

[My god, you're heart-stopping.] Deke thought to her, which turned her face a shade of red to match her hair. A blushing bride indeed.

"Who gives this woman away?" The officiant asked, once she and Jim had made their way up.

"I do, her father." Jim said, sniffing once and stepping back to take his seat next to Maria.

"Deacon O'Connelly and Barbara Gordon. I've been informed you plan to have a much larger ceremony later, where you've written your own vows, is that right?" The Officiant asked.

"Yes sir, that's right." Barbara said sweetly from behind a veil that had to be hand knitted lace.

"And you're both content with civil vows then, without the need for a higher power to be invited to the party?" He asked again, a jolly fellow indeed.

"That's also correct." Deke replied, not able to take his eyes off of her. She hadn't gone full bore with her makeup, not for the civil ceremony, but she'd taken the time to do her eyes, and they'd certainly captivated his.

"Very well. Short and sweet it is." The officiant said, and looked out towards Maria and Jim, and noticed that Jim was holding his phone at chest level and aiming it. Apparently this was getting streamed. "Friends and family, we're gathered here today to bear witness to the union of Barbara Joan Gordon, and Marshall Deacon O'Connelly."

"The rings?" The officiant asked, looking at Hector. He nodded, reached into his pocket, and produced the small box, and held it out for the kids to grab their rings.

"The rings symbolize a closed circle, never ending, a loop of love that has no start, nor a finish, like the love you share. Barbara, if you'd repeat after me while placing the ring on his finger please."

"With this ring, I thee wed." he began.

"With this ring," she said, pausing to collect herself. "I thee wed."

"Deacon, your turn. With this ring, I thee wed."

Deke took in a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and began slipping the band onto Barbara's finger. "With this ring, I thee wed." he drawled, his accent coming out from his nerves.

He turned to face Barbara again, and the look on her face, one of nervous anticipation and pure joy, reminded him why he did this job. "Barbara, do you promise to love, honor, respect, and care for Deacon in your best and worst of days, until your time on Earth is done?"

"I do." She said bashfully, batting her eyes beneath her veil at her boy.

"Deacon, do you promise to love, honor, respect, and care for Barbara in your best and worst of days, until your time on Earth is done?" He asked, and saw a common sight from the young man. Forced breathing into a regulated pattern.

"Yes I do." He replied.

"Then by the power vested in me by Gotham City and the state of New Jersey, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may now kiss your bride." The officiant said, and took a half-step back. Despite the short ceremony, he could see the barely restrained excitement and didn't want to be in any way a roadblock to this.

She stepped towards him, her ocean blue eyes bright, and blushed as he lifted her veil. She leaned in, brushed his lips with hers and felt him lean into her, pulling her into a tight embrace as he kissed her, deep but sweet.

The officiant's wife switched songs, and similarly smiled when the newlyweds all but skipped down the aisle. "C'mon daddy!" Barbara sang out. "Bucko's is calling our name!"

* * *

They'd changed of course, there was no way Barbara was having pizza in her wedding dress, but the small ceremony was for the parents, and she and her dad plus Bucko's pizza was a tradition she absolutely would not interfere with.

"Jim, uh, you took the whole day off, right?" Deke asked, once Bucko himself had taken their order and dashed off to make it.

"Yeah, I need time to grieve." He said, the corners of his mustache turning up. "Why?"

"A friend of mine, Kris, that short guy you met at Thanksgiving, he's coming over to our place around four to set up your present." Deke said, something that drew a puzzled look from Barbara. She'd heard nothing about a present for her dad. "It'll be him, and Barbara's friend Helena is showing up at nine, you've met her too, right?"

"Sort of, in passing. Why?" Jim asked, taking a drink of his Dr. Pepper to end his statement.

"Well, because of who's going to be at the big ceremony, it made the guest list tough, but Kris and I were talking about how that's really unfair to you, and Babs, so we worked out a plan. Kris is a tech wizard, he's bringing over a few holographic cameras and projectors. Helena, interestingly enough, is built so much like Barbara that they could dress as each other for Halloween and nobody would probably notice. She'll be in a green screen suit though."

"You're giving us the father-daughter dance, aren't you?" Barbara asked, unable to not interrupt when she handily put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Who do I thank?"

Deke smiled at his bride. "You don't have to thank anyone. Just be prepared to have a dance with Will at the reception. He's the closest physical match we could find for your dad here. I should mention, it was going to be uh, _Mr. J'onzz_ , but since Jim's lost a few pounds lately, Will fits better now."

"Noticed that, did you?" Jim said, looking over towards the pizza ovens, planning to put a touch of that weight back on. "Forget the grieving then, welcome to the family. What do I need to do?"

"You've got a key to our elevator, so just be there before nine with your suit. There's going to be four tripod lookin' things in the middle of the living room. When Helena gets there, she'll change into that body suit, and then you both kinda hang out until the cameras and emitters go live." Deke explained.

"You'll know when they do, they make a whining noise for a second. I'm guessing they'll overlay me onto her, and Will is going to be in one too, that'll overlay on him, right?" Barbara said, working the situation out faster than Deke and Kris had when they originally hatched the plan.

"Yep. Just gotta stay in the square you two, so nothing too wild. Kris is working with our living room here. I told him to move furniture, but you know him." Deke said, absently following Jim's gaze over to the pizza ovens, watching Bucko work. The man didn't have a thought process at all while he did, which was fascinating, his body just did what it was supposed to do. It was amazing really.

"Well, after this, we'll still have several hours before we have to be at the venue. Have Mami and Papi even seen the place yet?" Barbara asked, poking her boy. Yeah, he was her husband now, but he'd always be her boy.

"Mija, we have not. He's forgiven this once though." Hector said, glancing at his son.

"I'll text Ash and tell her to expect company. She said she wanted to get some painting done." Bette said, which drew looks from Babs and Deke that were somewhere in between surprised and relieved. She was going to have to ask about that one later, but for now, she whipped her phone out and got to typing.

"What was that about?" Jim asked, cocking an eyebrow. It was so easy to forget that when Batman's not around, he was the best detective in the city. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Bette paused her typing, she wanted to hear this.

"Ash, well, she doesn't paint when anyone else is home. We interrupted her once and she got upset." Barbara said, not wanting to embarrass her girlfriend, nor give anything away, and it was fundamentally true. Ash still didn't much enjoy painting in front of other people.

"Well, it doesn't matter, she already replied, said she couldn't get anywhere." Bette said, her phone chiming off quickly. She knew there was more than Babs was letting on, but she'd wait to get that out of them. "Oh, and she says please bring her a slice back."

"She forgot to eat again." Barbara said with a frown.

"Artists, we do that." Hector said. "Oh, thank you again Barbara, for inviting me to breakfast with your friends last week. I've seen Miami enough that it's not really exploring anymore, so it made the wait on my plane much more bearable."

"Papi, we loved having you, it's no problem." Barbara said, and caught Maria snickering, which drew a curious look from the new bride.

"I know my husband. Surrounded by beautiful young women, even if it's just for breakfast, is a particular delight for him. I'm sure he was hoping someone would confuse him for somebody important." Maria said, giving Hector a sideways glance.

"Forgive me, mi amor, but I was somebody important. My presence prevented those young women from having their breakfast interrupted." Hector said with a sage nod. "They were able to eat in peace."

"If you were there, mi esposo, there was nothing peaceful about it. He didn't let anyone get a word in, did he?" Maria said, looking at Barbara pointedly.

"Yes he did, he was charming company, like he's always been." Barbara said, scoring points with the father-in-law.

"You have her brainwashed." Maria said to her husband. "Jim, be careful. If she says anything about Castro, get her to the authorities."

"Low blow my dear." Hector said with a snicker. Accusing each other of communist leanings had been a constant source of amusement between the two of them since they were dating.


	28. Chapter 28 Unity

September 2nd  
Gotham City  
1900 EST  
Sixteen months after the quake

"You know, I think I like that this one's all for show." Maddie said, stepping into the men's changing room at the Gotham Ballroom, zero concern whatsoever for who might be in there, and in what state of undress they might be in. "Kris, thank you for getting your beard groomed, by the way."

"You're welcome." Kris replied, stroking his longish beard. He'd gotten it brought down and smoothed at a barber's shop just an hour ago, and felt like it fit him just right, along with the more modern haircut he'd gotten to go along with it. "I take it the stress is less than expected?" he asked, pulling his socks on.

"You know it. They're already married so there's no stress to make this perfect. Hey Mustang, why are we even doing this one?" Maddie called out. She could see the top of his head from behind the doors of one of the dressing stalls, where his hair had apparently gotten good and springy from the drizzle the city had experienced earlier.

"Pictures, mostly." He called out. "And for the experience I guess. She told me once a couple of years ago that her mom and dad had gotten married in a quick civil ceremony when he'd gotten back from Iraq, which had always kind of bothered them both that they didn't have the memories."

"Oh, well that makes sense. Hold off on the jacket and come out here." Maddie instructed, stepping out of the way so Liho could step in, his tuxedo in a garment bag over his shoulder. She had to continue that dance when Nightwing exited another stall, already dressed, and quietly excused himself out of the room.

Stepping out and sliding his arms into his suspenders, Deke gave Maddie a confused look. "I was almost done Mads, what do you need?" He asked, puzzled by her interruption.

"Sit down for a minute, you look like you forgot what a brush does." Maddie said, producing one from her bag and stepping behind him. "I thought you were getting a trim." She said, running that brush through his long hair, trying to tame the frizz.

"I got it three days ago." He said, occasionally scowling at how she was jerking the brush through his mane. Getting his hair tugged was all well and good when it was Babs who did it. He wouldn't mind Ash trying it, but she never really did.

"Well, you can't tell." Maddie said, wishing she'd brought a spray bottle, maybe some gel or something. "This is going to sound fucked up, especially coming from me, but you really do have your moments of being a blonde."

"Yeah, that's fucked up alright." Deke muttered. "Tim, you okay in there little brother?" he called out. Tim had been in the dressing stall for a while now, and hadn't made a single peep.

"Yeah, I'm good. This is the first chance I've had to do much of anything that isn't on a split second timetable. Kind of enjoying the breathing room." Tim replied, indeed taking his sweet time to make sure he looked good. Barbara was the sister he never had, he was not going to disappoint her.

"You got another hour yet brah," Liho said from his own stall. "Take your time then. Titans got you busy, yeah?"

"Yeah, long and short of it. Trust me, be glad you're League. If I'd known running the Titans was going to be this kind of trouble, I would've put more thought into it. I'm just glad Starfire's been there to back me up." Tim said, sitting down and slipping his shoes on nice and slow.

"Speaking of, am I seeing things or has she been all kinds of cozy with Nightwing?" Maddie asked, mercifully pausing her rough brushing for a minute.

"You're not seeing things, but I'm not a gossip either." Tim answered honestly, finally exiting the stall and heading over to the mirror to get his own hair in order.

"Fine, just wreck a girl's evening then." Maddie said, going back to brushing Deke's hair. "Sack up you pussy." She added, rapping him with the brush when he grunted quietly. "You could have gotten the nice Maddie hair-brushings but you shot me down."

"I'm beginning to see why." Deke said, when she'd tugged through a particularly nasty tangle.

"Yeah, I stepped into that one. How're you wearing this?" She asked, slipping one of the four hair ties she had on her wrist, choosing a tan one to most closely match his dishwater blonde hair.

"Half tail, the usual." He said, breathing easier when she stopped brushing and started running her fingers through his hair to get what she needed.

"We need to recruit a metahuman that just happened to be a hairdresser or a barber or something." Maddie grumbled once she'd gotten Deke's hair taken care of. "Or, you know, you could get a haircut."

"I can answer that for you." Kris said, leaning over Maddie's shoulder. "No way in hell. The missus is particularly fond of it, or have you never noticed her absently playing with it when the hour gets late at our gatherings?"

"Yeah, there's that. Okay, you're decent looking now. I'm going to go check on the women." Maddie said, letting Deke up and heading out the door. She crossed the hallway, and took a minute to marvel at the use of wood and marble in the place. They'd definitely gone old-school charm with it, though it was done with modern sensibilities, all clean lines and smooth façade instead of so much decorative fancy.

Taking a breath, she stepped into the women's changing room, built exactly like the men's, but with more room, and currently filled with a riot of activity. "Emergencies in here?" She called out, over the din of chatter.

"My nipples are poking out of my dress." Aasha whined plaintively.

"My stockings, my backup stockings, and the backups to the backups all have runs." Bette said furiously, tossing them across the room.

"I can't get my hair to behave." Artemis said, though at least she was calm about it, just casually and methodically trying to make it do what she wanted.

Maddie sighed and dug back into her bag, tossing Bette a brand new pair of stockings, still in the packaging, and then ignoring all personal space to walk into the changing stall where Aasha stood, and began putting band-aids on the girl's very stiff peaks.

"Suck it up buttercup." Maddie said when Aasha hissed, the girls still quite obviously tender. "Next step is the electrical tape. Babs, anything wrong with you?"

"No, I'm good." Barbara said with a quiet serenity. "I've done this before."

"Yeah, like nine hours ago. Lunch didn't wreck the lines of the dress?" Maddie said, peering into the Bride's much bigger stall.

"Nope, I ate light. The caterer impressed me enough to behave at lunch." Barbara said, scooting a chair over so she could watch Maddie bind Aasha's small breasts down. "You better believe the letter of recommendation I'm writing you for this is going to be glowing. You're edging into Bat level preparation here."

"Thanks Red." Maddie said with a blush. "Did I match the purple in my hair well enough for your tastes?"

"Yeah, you did great Mads." Barbara said, noticing where she'd kept the pink strips, she'd changed them for a deep purple to match the Bridesmaids dresses. It was a nice touch, hopefully something she could turn into a bit of a trademark.

Aasha squeaked and made a face when she realized that electrical tape was a promise instead of a threat. "Bloody sadist." She said, biting her bottom lip, and not in the good way.

"Yeah yeah, you'll live. Just be glad they're small. If I tried that with mine, it'd take a roll of duct tape per tit. Oh hey, Artemis, there's a can of some really badass hairspray in the cupboard by the mirror, try that."

"Thank you Maddie!" Artemis called out, finding it, and putting it to good use. "Anyone showed up early?"

"Yeah, Diana's here with Alexa, kind of explaining things to her and everything. Pacifica texted saying she and Rindi are going to be here in a couple of minutes, she got hung up at the Atlantean embassy here in Gotham, dunno why but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say Aquaman and Mera sent their wedding gift there." Maddie said, trying to take her time with Aasha's breasts.

"They didn't have to get us anything. I asked Deke to make that explicitly clear." Barbara said with a small frown.

"And he did, I was there when he said it, but you know them. When's the Dark Knight getting here anyway?" Maddie asked, figuring if anyone knew, it'd be Barbara.

"He's probably been here for a half hour, if I know him." Barbara replied. "If there's a stretched Bentley outside, you'll know he's here."

"I am sorry we are late." Pacifica said, gently guiding Rindi into the dressing room and pulling the door behind her as quickly as she could. "Please forgive our tardiness."

"You're still early Pacifica." Artemis said, glancing over her shoulder. "/Hello to you Rindi./" she added in Atlantean. She and Barbara were the only other people in the entire wedding party who spoke it, so she'd prepared herself when she'd heard that their flower girl's English wasn't so hot yet.

"/Hello to you./" Rindi said pleasantly, excited that someone else spoke Atlantean. "/Thank you for letting me help in your union Lady Batgirl./"

"/You're welcome Rindi./" Barbara replied, peering over the stalls to smile and wave at the little Atlantean girl.

"Can someone answer a question I have while we are here?" Pacifica said, quickly helping Rindi out of her day dress and into the deep Roman purple dress she'd wear for the ceremony. "What is the surface fascination with mermaids? Do they not understand how dangerous those creatures are?"

"Apparently not. They're pretty, don't have any cares, and live free, that's what we know." Bette said. "What do you mean by dangerous?"

"They lure sailors to drown and then eat them. It is fortunate that modern ships move much faster than they can swim now. Mermaids are not something I would recommend emulating." Pacifica said, carefully folding and wrapping Rindi in the traditional Atlantean garb. It would leave her middle still exposed, but such was their culture, and Barbara had welcomed them to embrace it at her union.

"Wow, noted." Bette said, finally smoothing her stockings out and slipping into her shoes. "You get to go barefoot?"

"Shoes are exceptionally painful on Atlantean feet, and make swimming difficult. If you are concerned, I will wash them again." Pacifica said with a smirk.

"No, you're good." Bette said, stepping over to a sofa out of the way to give the rest of the women more room.

"Okay, there you go Ash." Maddie said from within the small woman's stall. "That's the best I can do. Hopefully the draping on the bodice keeps the jewelry from showing too much. Now Red, one last thing before I go yell at the caterer and the florist, let's run down the checklist. Something old?"

"The friendship bracelet Bette made me when we were in high school." Barbara replied, double checking it to make sure it was still there.

"Something new?"

"The diadem that Cassie gave me." Barbara said, stepping off the chair to go ahead and fasten that around her head.

"Something borrowed."

"Aasha's earrings."

"I suppose there's a lot worse jewelry you could borrow from her." Maddie said with a snicker, earning an elbow to her ribs from Ash. She'd known exactly what Maddie was talking about.

"Too late, already put it in." She added with a positively slutty look.

"Godamn Ash, seriously?" Maddie asked, taken aback by the girl's attitude.

"You'll never know." Aasha said, stepping out of the stall and kneeling with her back to Bette, who began braiding the girl's hair like they'd agreed upon earlier.

"Wow, okay, something blue?"

Barbara had to bite her snicker back to answer. "Garter." She answered simply.

"Speaking of. Lingerie, wearing it or changing into it?" Maddie asked, exiting the stall as well and posting herself up by the door.

"Changing into it. Ingrid didn't give me any room in this dress for underthings, but she managed to fit in enough hidden pockets to sneak in two batarangs and the short range line thrower." Barbara said with a snicker, though if someone thought she wasn't currently carrying those things, they were dead wrong.

"I thought it was really cool how she made your rings." Bette said, still casually braiding Aasha's extremely long tresses. "I never would have thought of that."

"Chick's thoughtful." Maddie said with a nod. "Okay, the fires are out in here. Zee's lucky all she has to do is say some shit backwards and she's ready. Time to go yell at caterers though."

* * *

Liho walked in with Artemis, the two of them snickering about something until around halfway up the aisle. Aasha, arm looped in with Tim's, came next. Kris escorted Zatanna, while Dick followed with Bette, and they actually looked perfectly civil. Fortunately, so far as Deke could tell, Starfire didn't seem to much mind.

He was still a bundle of nerves, though seeing a few of their guests out there helped keep him even. Captain Atom looked positively weird in his Air Force dress blues, considering he was wearing his containment suit beneath them. Ollie, in his hunter green tux, looked like he was going to a high school prom. Clark, in a red and blue striped tie, wasn't even trying to fool anybody.

As he looked over the crowd, he caught Alexa's eye, and gave her a smile and a nod. She and Diana were sitting near the middle, in Themysciran finery, and it appeared as though Wonder Woman was giving her a quiet lecture.

"She was right behind us bruddah." Liho whispered. "Get your game face on."

It was a good thing he'd suggested it too, since Drew and Rindi stepped onto the aisle, she to scatter flower petals before Barbara, with Bruce escorting her. Even he looked out of place, in his Bruce Wayne costume, but he seemed happier than Deke had ever remembered seeing him.

Their officiant, a robed Hawkwoman, nodded towards them. Apparently she'd been some kind of Egyptian priestess in a past life, giving her a little more spiritual authority than the rest of the League. "Who gives this woman away?" she asked, addressing Bruce as though he were challenging him at a gate.

"I do." Bruce replied, kissed Barbara on the cheek, and watched her take the altar.

"Since the legalities were handled earlier, the bride and groom have chosen to share their vows, exchange rings again, and let everyone move to the reception following." Hawkwoman said. "So, Batgirl, you may begin when you like."

She nodded, handing Artemis her bouquet of black, yellow, and purple roses. "Mustang," she began, quietly giggling since they'd chosen to use their hero identities for this. "We met on the streets of Gotham, running down the same lead. Ever since then, it seems like fate determined that we'd continue to be intertwined."

"We were two kids that had their own share of hard times, trying to just make it through another day. Since we began shouldering each other's burdens, I feel like there's nothing out there that can bring us down, and my first vow is that I will always share your burden."

"We've seen each other at our very worst, laying in hospital beds, sitting on the couch at wits end, backed up against a wall, and there's nobody I'd rather have with me the next time we're in that same place. My second vow to you is that I will always be at your side and I will always have your back."

"You were the first boy I ever told I loved, that wasn't my father. You showed it to me, offered me every part of your heart, and took hold of mine so hard I will never look back. My third vow is that I will always love you."

She smiled softly, but a tiny trickle ran down from her eye, past her nose, catching the light and bringing a smile to Deke's face.

"Batgirl." He began, taking a deep breath. "March fourteenth, five years ago, Metropolis. You took me out on the first date I'd ever had in my life. We drove there, parked, and walked the city, but you wanted to have food first. There was a fountain in that square, where I made a wish. It just came true."

"I promise you, for as long as I live, maybe longer if I can figure out how, I will be the kind of man that deserves to have that wish granted. I will love you, I will care for you, I will protect you, and I will empower you, every day. It has been a privilege to share my life with you up to this point, and it will be a privilege to continue sharing my life with you until the stars fade."

Hawkwoman, who'd read their vows, nodded, missing Carter more now than she had in a very long time. "You may exchange rings. I've been asked to tell our guests that these rings contain steel taken from both a batarang, and the Russian meteor, fused in the style of Damascus. It symbolizes their union, but also their individuality, and serves as a reminder of their heroic deeds."

Deke, blinking twice to keep his own waterworks at bay, took Barbara's ring from Liho, and sent it up into the air telekinetically, where it hovered spinning for a minute, before zipping onto Barbara's finger. She giggled, took his ring from Artemis and released his hands with a smile and a nod. She'd been practicing this one for weeks.

Deke held his left hand out, fingers splayed, and watched her line up her shot, before flicking her wrist to send his ring spinning in the air to land on his finger. She giggled again, pleased she'd hit her mark, and took his hand physically to slide it all the way down his finger.

"And that concludes the showing off in this ceremony. Mustang, Batgirl, you may kiss." Hawkwoman said. She'd been similarly prepared for this, and couldn't help but enjoy the whimsy they'd chosen to interject into their ceremony.

Once their lips parted, Barbara nodded at Deke, who returned the gesture, and pulled a small box out of his pocket. Together, they stepped towards the bridesmaids, stopping in front of Aasha.

"This is from us." Barbara said, putting her hand on the box with Deke. "Our life wouldn't be complete without you."

Aasha batted her eyes and opened the small container, where a simple silver band set flush with purple stones rested within. "Oh dear." She said, trying not to cry. "But, you two, and I, and this?"

"You're a valuable part of our lives Ash," Deke said, and made an encouraging gesture towards the ring, which she slipped onto her finger. "And we love you."

* * *

 **AN:** I love calling back to previous stuff. It's a weakness of mine I suppose. Amusingly, Deke never told me what he wished for. I had to guess it somewhere around book three.


	29. Chapter 29 Unity

September 2nd  
Gotham City  
2115 EST  
Sixteen months after the quake

Jim sat in his daughter's living room, in his best suit, drinking a beer and wondering why they hadn't gotten the cable on yet, since he was having a devil of a time working all the streaming services, despite being given very detailed instructions from Barbara on how to access them. He supposed it just wasn't meant to be, when he heard the buzzer.

Hopping up, he walked over to the panel on the wall and hit the button. "Yes?" he asked, not sure how he felt about a full digital touchpad for it.

"Hi, I'm Helena, Babs' friend." He heard a woman's voice say. He shrugged and hit the elevator button, sending the car down.

"Sending it now." Jim said, and stepped away from the elevator doors to give this woman enough room to exit. He had a beer in hand, so the barstool seemed a wise choice.

The elevator chimed a minute later, and the doors opened to reveal an exceptionally attractive young woman. A young woman that Jim knew quite well. "Helena Bertinelli." He said in greeting. He'd seen her around her piece of shit father enough to recognize her immediately.

"Commissioner Gordon." Helena said with a tense smile. She'd expected suspicion from him. "I'm not like my dad, I promise you that, and I'm here on a good mission."

Jim nodded and took his glasses off to clean them. "Yeah, sorry, old prejudices and all. Thank you for doing this."

"Oh, just you wait, it gets better." Helena said, pulling a wad of green fabric from her bag. "You're getting a laugh too. And, you're welcome, but thank your son-in-law, he's the one that asked me if I'd be willing to skip the wedding to do this."

"You're missing out on the food and drinks and dancing, I appreciate that." Jim said, setting his beer down. "You didn't have to."

"I'm not too worried about it. I can eat, drink, and dance whenever I want. It's not every day I get to mo-cap as a bride so she can dance with her dad from across town." Helena said, tossing the morph suit over her shoulder and heading towards the room Babs had told her she could use.

She was in there for several minutes, most of that time spent making sure she wasn't exposing herself in the skintight suit. Such things were meant for her crimefighting costume as a way to distract her opponents, not for the father of the bride. When she came out, Jim did indeed have to stifle a chuckle.

"Told you it was funny. Now we get to wait until they're ready over there." Helena said, joining him in the middle of the living space, where all the furniture had been moved out of the way to give them as much space as possible.

* * *

Across town, at the Gotham Ballroom, Barbara was leaning against a chair near the dance floor, sipping champagne with her husband, and watching their guests carry on. "Cowboy, this is why I wanted the bigger ceremony. I love seeing people happy."

"Yeah buddy. I think Rindi and Drew have overcome the language barrier." Deke said, gesturing towards the children, off in the corner, dancing to the music. "Poor boy reminds me of me, can't dance a lick."

"He's got time." Barbara said. "They're cute though, it gives me hope."

Deke leaned in and stole a smooch. "Speaking of dancing, Will's getting changed now. While he's doing that, we need to figure out a couple of things. Who'm I directing the bouquet to?" he asked, giving her a wink.

"M'gann." Barbara said devilishly. "Who am I aiming for when you borrow my eyes for the garter?"

Deke pondered that a minute. "Drew, give Mads a heart attack and spare the adult guests the looks." He said with a devilish grin of his own.

"That's thoughtful of you. Where are you going?" Barbara asked, when he casually, but suddenly stepped away from her.

"Got something to do, and so do you, there's Will." He said, gesturing towards the door, where Fujin walked in, in that same green morph suit. Barbara set her champagne flute down and approached him, but waited in the center of the holograph posts Kris had set up.

"Excuse me," Black Canary said, placing a hand on Barbara's shoulder as she walked past, heading the same direction as Deke, which gave Barbara a reason to look that direction. Near their DJ was her boy, who was currently putting his head through his guitar strap, and Dinah, who was adjusting the microphone.

"As a surprise present for his wife, the groom asked me if I'd be willing to sing the father daughter dance, something I was honored to accept." Dinah said into the microphone, joined by Deke who was still fiddling with the tuning knobs on his guitar, that same beat-up old PRS that Barbara and Ash had gotten him a few years ago.

"May I have this dance?" Will asked, a perfect gentleman, even going so far as to offer a short bow.

"You may." Barbara said, and waited for the posts to come to life. They did a moment later, and she watched as the different holograph projectors began overlaying on Will, leaving a nearly perfect image of her father standing there.

"Daddy?" She asked curiously.

"Yep, it's me Barb." Jim replied. "This is weird, not gonna lie."

"Right? It's fun though. I'd rather you were here for this too." Barbara said a bit sadly.

"Superheroes are a whiny lot, I'm not worried about it." Jim replied with a snicker. "I'm ready when you are."

As if on cue, Deke plugged his guitar into the amp and began strumming the intro to 'Landslide'. Barbara smiled at her boy and then took her dad's hands. "We have to keep this simple. I wish we could have rehearsed something fun though. I know Will and Helena could have handled it."

"I'm sure they could, but this works just fine Barb. I love you."

"I love you too Daddy." Barbara said softly.

They danced together, slow and easy through the song, Barbara's excellent understanding of technology, unfortunately, ruining the illusion for herself, but all the same, it was worth it to her. She couldn't have him there, but she had him all the same.

When the song ended, she smiled and kissed Will on the cheek. "Thank you for helping with this." She said, which drew a gentleman's bow from him.

"Of course, I couldn't say no to something like this." He said, and stepped away, ostensibly to get out of that silly morph suit. Barbara finally giggled at him for it, but stopped when she felt hands on her shoulders.

"Hi Cowboy." She said, when she felt a kiss on her cheek. "Cutting in for this round?"

"Yes I am." Deke said, with a certain set to his voice that left Barbara curious. "Shall we dance as newlyweds?" he asked her, gently taking her hands and placing a kiss on them.

"I would love to." Barbara said, and stepped into him. Behind them, the DJ hit play, but it was still Dinah at the mic when 'We found Love' began playing. If that wasn't enough, Liho had stepped up to join her, blending his strong tenor with her crystalline alto.

"Woah!" Barbara said with a giggle when her boy readjusted his hand positions, turning with her in a remarkably smooth motion, just like the music video. "When did you learn this?" she asked, surprised, but matching him movement for movement.

"I've been taking lessons in Metropolis. Clark steered me towards a really good teacher." Deke said, still moving with her in fair ballroom form. "This is literally the only dance I know though, don't expect too much."

"I don't mind, thank you, Cowboy." She said, finding the perfect lull in song and movement to kiss him deep, just the way she liked to.

September 3nd  
Gotham City  
0115 EST  
Sixteen months after the quake

The elevator doors to their penthouse opened with a pleasant pinging noise. "…saying is, I very specifically asked people for presence, not presents. That's why we refused to register anywhere." Barbara said, over-annunciating the T to drive the point.

"Yeah, but what'd you expect? Superheroes are notoriously stubborn after all. At least a few people skirted it with simple things." Deke argued, using his powers to carry the full load of gifts in behind them.

"Yeah, that's cool and all, but I really didn't want two thick envelopes from Bruce and Ollie, they don't need to keep throwing money at us." Barbara said, more arguing to feel better about the defeat than anything else.

"We can finish furnishing the apartment at least." Deke suggested, which seemed to suit Barbara just fine. "And a lot of this stuff is really thoughtful too. I mean, the blender from Captain Marvel is timeless."

"Okay, I'll give you that. We've got the stuff now, might as well get a good look at everything." Barbara said, gently laying her dress bag down on the sofa, which was slowly in the process of righting itself with the rest of the room after they'd shifted things to make room for the holograph pylons.

"Can we get a good look at my boobs first please?" Aasha asked, peeling her shirt off. "I'm terrified this tape is going to rip skin."

"Ooh, yeah, let's do that now before it gets any more stuck." Barbara said, gently picking at the corner of the tape job, trying to create enough of an opening to just peel it and be done with it. "Speaking of stuck, were you lying to Maddie or telling the truth, that's been bugging me all night."

"Oh I was telling the truth, but I'll handle that myooooooouchie!" Aasha squealed when the tape came off. "That was mean." She whined, clutching her breast with a whimper.

"Sorry babe, I thought the distraction might help. Cowboy, wanna help with her leftie?" Barbara said, gesturing towards Aasha's still taped down breast.

"Sure," Deke said, stopping his sorting of their wedding presents and coming over to Aasha. He put a hand on her chest, just above her other breast, and held it there a moment before peeling the other bundle of tape off. "You'll get the feeling in your boobie back in a minute or two." He said once it was done, though he took a second to inspect the skin too, in the event a layer or two had been peeled off.

"Thank you sir." Aasha said, getting on tiptoes and placing a kiss on his cheek. "If it's all the same, I'm going to let them get some air after that."

"It's your home too Ash." Barbara said, taking the girl's hand and looking at the ring she and Deke had gotten her. "It suits you, I'm glad that worked out."

"Me too. You two didn't have to do that." Aasha said, placing a kiss on her girlfriend. "I'm content just being the mistress here."

"I'm not content with it. Neither of us were." Barbara said, kissing Ash back and taking her hand so they could wander over to where Deke was back to sorting and arranging their gifts. "So, whether I like it or not, how'd we do?"

"Blender from Billy. Clark gave us some kind of Kryptonian crystal that we're supposed to let catch the sun, it's a tradition he said. Bruce handed us an envelope I'm afraid to open, Ollie did the same. Diana gave us a bronze horse statue that's actually really badass looking. I'm a fan of it. Barry actually listened to us, so he got us a card. All four Lanterns pitched in and got us a really hardcore kitchen knife set. J'onn also listened to us, so there's just a card from him, though there's a cookie recipe inside. Zee gave us this bell, I dunno what's up with it." Deke said, carefully picking through their gifts.

"It's a silver chiming bell. It's got about a thousand different uses if you're in the know. Otherwise it's a rather charming little display piece." Aasha said, giving it a look. "And it's radiating about a dozen different types of magic too, protections and wards mostly."

"Well that's good to know." Barbara said, and opened another card. "Thank you for listening, Red Tornado. M'gann, not so much. She and Conner got us a sheet set, though, I love the color."

"It's purple, of course you do Love." Aasha said, showing Barbara the tip of her pierced tongue. "Oh, here's what made Pacifica late. How pretty are these?" she said, holding up a pair of circlets.

"Atlantean circlets, made to denote status." Barbara said, giving them a look. "I really hope and pray these aren't actually gold."

"They probably are." Deke said with a slight grimace. "But gold's really common according to Liho, it's like their aluminum. Oh hey, Dick might be spared the wrath, check it out."

Barbara grinned at what she was being handed. "The special edition full series of Doctor Who in the commemorative Tardis case. Yes, he's spared. Oh, there's a note too. 'For when there's nothing else to do. Love, Dick.'" Barbara said, setting the set down. "We can go through the rest tomorrow, I'm exhausted."

"Hopefully not too exhausted." Deke said, giving her 'the look'. She replied with the tip of her tongue and a kiss.

"No, not too exhausted." She said. "Ash, you don't have to clear out, I told you that earlier."

"No, this is your night, and I won't try weaseling my way into it any more than you've already done for me." Aasha said adamantly. "I'm not so dependent I can't go a night without sex."

"Okay, fine, but don't leave the place please. This is your home too. Work with us Kitten." Deke said, resorting to dirty tactics by calling her by her pet name.

"Very well. I shan't leave. What do you propose in compromise though?" Aasha asked, feeling defeated, and unfairly so. She couldn't win an argument against the both of them when they were united on a thing.

"If you don't want to get involved, you're welcome to watch." Barbara said with a wicked grin and delicate arch of her eyebrow. "I know you like perving as much as I do."

"Well, you're not wrong about that." Aasha said. "I might have to show a toy or two that I remember them and think of them fondly."

"That's the spirit! Before that though, could I get some help with my hair, I swear I think there's about two hundred bobby pins in, and probably two cans of spray." Barbara said, amazed it had help up quite literally all day with only a minor touchup right before arriving at the ballroom.

"Of course." Deke said. "Let's use the bed though, so we both have room to maneuver."

"That's not at all a bad idea. C'mon love, let's get your hair down." Aasha said, tugging at Barbara's hand and steering her towards the master suite. Together they made their way there, a much more comfortable experience once they'd been able to buy a proper bed with Deke's poker winnings from his bachelor party. California king memory foam mattress on a low, Japanese style frame, it had been Barbara's dream bed from the moment she'd first seen it in the store. Putting it together had been a nightmare, but the sleep she'd been getting on it was incredible, and the sex had been wonderful too. It was a good bed.

Deke made a gesture towards the corner, turning the small stereo on, letting their bedroom fill with the sounds of Barbara's favorite radio station, and giving her a chance to get comfortable. "So, feel any different?" he asked her, while he and Ash busied themselves carefully pulling the pins from her hair.

"Yes and no, just like I wanted to. What about you? Does being an honest man make you feel different?" Barbara said, absently stroking Aasha's knee as the girl leaned in close to do her work with a gentle hand.

"About the same, yeah." Deke said, turning his head to quietly burp some of the Indian food they'd gotten catered for their wedding. "Sorry."

"Whew Cowboy." Barbara said, crinkling her nose. "I wish Tandoori Joes had been able to cater. I loved the Curry House, don't get me wrong, but it was too fancy."

"Honestly, seeing as how I grew up with the food, it's funny you say that, since the stuff they brought was considered very basic. Mum would make that for a quick lunch." Aasha said after a minute's reflection. "And it still outclassed Tandoori Joes."

"Yeah, it was tastier, but it wasn't, y'know, ours." Deke said, agreeing with his wife. "I feel you on it. Maybe we're just not wired for high class, legit Indian food."

"I dunno, I rather enjoy the high class Indian I eat all the time." Barbara said naughtily, going from gently stroking Aasha's knee to digging her nails in slightly, which brought a hiss from the girl.

"You're being nasty Miss." Aasha said, but it didn't stop her from her mission. "It makes it hard for me to think."

"You're the one poking me in the shoulder." Barbara argued matter-of-factly.

"Then you're going to love this." Aasha said, coming off her bottom and onto her knees to get the top of her side of Barbara's head, quite handily pressing her breasts right into her girlfriend's face. "Yesterday was two weeks, by the way."

"Now who's being nasty?" Barbara asked, which made her boy snicker as he kept plodding along on pulling pins. She furthered that moment of nastiness by reaching her arm around Aasha and letting it rest on the girl's bottom, where she drug her fingertips along to see if she'd been fibbing about her other ornament. She hadn't been.

"You're dead set on this, aren't you?" Aasha said with a shiver as what had become new best friend got moved about gently.

"If you tell me no, I'll stop." Barbara answered honestly. "But I don't want you feeling left out."

Aasha sucked in a breath and looked at Deke, who just smiled at her. Damn him for making things difficult and not having a strong opinion either way. "Okay, compromise, and we're calling this a wedding present. I'll handle the light work, but the only one getting filled tonight is going to be you."

"That's fair." Deke said with a nod and a shrug. "Counter offer though, you know neither one of us much care to take without giving, so after we have our fun, you let us make sure you're going to sleep satisfied tonight."

"I'd say you're reading my mind and all, but…" Barbara said, letting it hang with a giggle. "Do you accept the counterproposal?" she added, turning to look at Aasha.

"Yes, absolutely. I accept. Now, let's get these pins out. Yesterday was the two-week mark and I want to take this tongue stud out for a test drive."


	30. Chapter 30 Unity (Here's your Lemon)

September 3nd  
Gotham City  
0200 EST  
Sixteen months after the quake

"She's been in there for quite some time." Aasha said from her spot on the bed, laying next to a Deke who was just as undressed as she was. "I wonder if she fell asleep or something, it's been a long day after all."

"I wouldn't blame her." Deke replied, readjusting his laying position before he got too comfortable and he for certain fell asleep. Aasha had been absolutely right; it'd been a protracted day for sure, especially since he'd gotten up with Babs when she went to get her hair done that morning.

"Nor I, but I feel like it might set a certain precedence for your marriage that it shouldn't." Aasha said, fidgeting about as she laid there on her side, trying to get herself to the right level of comfortable.

"I can hear you both in here, and it's only been five minutes." Barbara said from the master bath. Having it attached to the bedroom was absolutely fantastic, so far as they all seemed to think. "I'm still awake, despite the day, and before you say anything, I will not be defeated by lingerie."

Ash tapped Deke and made a face, their cohabitation having gone on long enough that he didn't need to read her thoughts to know what she was thinking. Barbara had purchased complicated lingerie and it was biting her in the ass. Quite possibly literally.

"I don't know what you're doing out there, but I probably don't like it." Barbara called out, but she'd completed her task, and finally exited the bathroom, stepping into the bedroom cutting an impressive figure indeed.

"Damn babe." Deke said, upon seeing her. Dressed in what looked like a cross between the classic garter belt, stockings and corset, and a strappy bondage harness, he could see why she'd had trouble. The pure white material, shot through with crisscrossing lavender lace, was wrapped across her body in eldritch patterns, hugging every curve and line her body had to offer, just perfectly.

"Oh my." Aasha said, sitting up and grabbing her phone. "You mind?" She asked, holding the device up?

"Go for it, but just a few right now. As much as I love our dirty pictures, I want this to be a memory, not a collage." Barbara said, turning this way and that, giving flirty poses for the camera, bending and twisting a bit to show off her flexibility and her remarkable assets.

"Okay, I'm satisfied, now it's your turn." Aasha said, patting the bed between she and Deke. Barbara came around to the front of the bed and stepped onto it lightly and gracefully before sliding down in between her lovers.

She turned towards her husband and kissed him, long, slow, and deep. He murmured quietly in his throat in obvious approval and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. In short order they were squirming against each other, the emotional intensity of the moment catching them up.

As their tongues twisted and darted, Barbara could feel Aasha's small hands on her back, gently caressing the bare skin exposed in the crisscross of her lingerie. Coupled with her boy's strong hands, she felt like melting right then and there, but he escalated things admirably when he broke his lips from hers and began kissing along her throat and neck, causing more of those cursed goosebumps to crawl up her skin. She cooed happily in response despite her annoyance at how easy she developed those bumps.

Deke pushed against her shoulder, laying her fully on the bed, and carried his kisses lower, to the top of her chest, and added to these little pecks thin trails with the tip of his tongue over the top swell of her breasts. While he did that, Aasha was already working her way up from Barbara's feet, letting her hands glide up her stockinged legs and across her thighs while she nibbled her way towards her goal.

"Oh this is lovely." Barbara murmured when she felt her boy methodically popping the fasteners on her pseudo-corset, taking his good sweet time about it. She'd not cinched it too tightly, in fact, where it didn't have any boning, the greatest time consumption of her putting the getup on was making sure the laces had _just_ the right amount of tension on them.

When her breasts were freed from their confines, and Deke began working them over with his lips and tongue, Barbara moaned softly. She could acutely feel Aasha teasing her by tugging at her thong, before ignoring it for a minute to nibble around her waist and thighs. All of that attention got her squirming more in fairly short order, and not long after that, she discovered she had her hands wrapped up in her boy's hair.

When Aasha finally peeled her panties off of her, and began taking excruciatingly slow licks of her dewy sex, those moans grew louder. Barbara felt emboldened by them, they had no neighbors to disturb, and let her voice climb in register to match how she felt.

"I suppose that's working for you?" Deke asked, before flicking one of her barbells with his tongue, sending teasing little tingles through her peak. She nodded and arched her shoulders up, realizing that Ash was just now employing her new piercing, the smooth metal trailing up and around to mirror where else the girl was carefully licking, making it feel nearly like there were two tongues going to work on her.

"Oh God yes. You're not going to be disappointed." Barbara said through panting breath. She forced herself to relax, realizing she was getting way too ahead of herself for her own good, and set about regulating her breathing to calm down. "Ash, baby, you are way too good."

"She's blushing." Deke said, curious just what exactly Ash was doing to get Barbara's motor revving so quickly. From her place between Barbara's legs, the girl looked up, stuck her tongue out at him, and went back to her task, slowing herself down since it seemed like that's what Babs wanted, and just enjoyed being where she was, and doing what she was doing.

"She deserves to be. Kiss me Cowboy." Barbara said, tugging him by his shoulders, trying to get him up and closer to her. He happily obliged and began kissing her again, and used the opportunity to try and gauge Ash's performance based purely on the urgency and pressure Barbara used as she kissed him back.

It wasn't long before the multitude of sensations stirred Barbara further again, forcing her to break off her kiss and push Aasha's head away gently. "I'm trying not to finish." She said, sounding almost shy about it.

"Oh, don't worry, you've not hurt my feelings at all love." Aasha said, licking her lips but saving some, which she shared by kissing her girlfriend.

"Your turn." Barbara said to her boy, once Aasha had moved away for air. Deke grinned, already standing at full attention from the experience, but he wasn't about to not take his turn. He propped his pillows up to get a good view, and got comfortable.

Aasha crawled over him and settled herself between his legs, inspecting her next task with a casual eye. She'd gone a bit too hard on Babs and she knew it, so instead of just trying to inhale him, she contented herself to licking and kissing on his shaft for a good while.

During that time, Barbara wasn't idle, leaning over him and putting her breasts directly into his face, a very obvious hint that he didn't miss in the slightest. Flicking his own tongue out, he began licking and nibbling on her ornamented peaks all the while absently toying with her sex with his free hand.

"Take it slow Cowboy." Barbara scolded lightly, patting his hand when he picked up pace to instinctively match Aasha, who'd taken the length of him and had begun sucking and bobbing on him in a nice pace. To remove the temptation, Barbara came down off of him and laid beside him, stroking Aasha's hair and nibbling on his neck while their girl kept at her self-appointed task.

"I know what that feels like, so I'll probably need to repeat this, but I don't want you to use your powers. I don't care if it's thirty seconds start to finish, no powers please." She asked her boy endearingly.

Deke let out a long exhale that turned into a quiet moan. "That's probably what it'd be after this." He said, realizing just what she'd meant about not being disappointed. That little ball on the end of her tongue stud was adding a fun new sensation. "Are you sure?" he asked a minute later, sounding drunk, and like Barbara had said, she knew what that felt like, so drunk wasn't entirely an unfair parallel to make.

"Yeah, you and me, a boy and a girl, no powers or acrobatics. I just want to make honest love. You can show off on the honeymoon." Barbara said, nudging Aasha gently. If she'd kept it up, it really would've been thirty seconds, and while that wouldn't have necessarily bothered Barbara, if she could get some more natural time from the moment, she was going to take it.

"Okay." Deke said, smiling at her. When Aasha had extricated herself from her position, and had scurried over to the far side of the bed where she'd stashed her curvy purple friend, Deke got up on his knees and pulled Barbara up gently with him. "I love you." He said to her, leveling his bottle green eyes with her ocean blues.

"I love you too." She said, tossing her sunset fire hair and leaning into him for another deep kiss. They held it for a beat, before Deke wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer. He didn't need powers to know it was proximity she wanted. It was what she'd always wanted.

Barbara giggled into their kiss and used his arms as a chance to brace herself. First one leg, then the other, until their weight adjusted, leaving him seated on his bottom and she straddling him. It was his turn to giggle. Of course this is how she wanted it, and she wasted no time in putting her plan into motion, coming just off of him to grasp his shaft and angle him just as she wanted him, before bringing her weight down slow and smooth, letting herself get wonderfully impaled in a single motion.

She cooed, loudly though, at her acceptance of him, and held him within her for a moment, before flashing him a bright smile and beginning her rocking with him. Beside them, but proverbially so far away, Aasha was happily teasing herself with her toy, a smile of her own on her lips.

Unashamedly an artist, Aasha thought and functioned in instants, and she was enamored of the instant they were creating just a foot and change away from her. She was rocking slowly but with intent, rolling her hips in the motion, and arching her back into his hands. He had his head back, his mane of blonde hair hanging down his back as he fought to control his breathing and grant Barbara's wish of not using his powers, while simultaneously ensuring he didn't end things too soon.

Together, they rocked into one another, growing more and more kinetic as they moved. Barbara's pants turned to moans, which gave way to whines, while his voice climbed in register and grew shaky. When her fire burned bright, it was plain to see and hear as she tossed her head back and let loose a single, long clarion call into the late night, digging her nails into his shoulders for dear life as her climax enveloped her, locking her body down while her limbs went numb from the experience.

It was too much for him, it would be too much for most anyone. When her fingers dug into him, and her voice lifted to the heavens, he grasped to her, all but shoving his face into her breasts, and leaned forward, while he fired off within her.

Panting to catch her breath, Barbara tossed her hair again and looked at her boy, who was busy shaking the cobwebs loose. "That was lovely." She said to him, and kissed him again, to which he happily responded in like.

They couldn't keep that way for long, on account of neither of their breathing having gotten back into order. "I'm just glad I held it together long enough. Damn." He muttered, still attempting to gain control of his senses. "You enjoy that Ash?" he asked, glancing at their lover, who was currently setting her toy to the side.

"Yes, three times." She said with a naughty grin. "So, I'm good now."

"Cheater." Barbara accused through slitted blue eyes.

"Yes I am." Aasha said blithely. "Now, you get first dibs to go pee, but if you don't go soon, I'm going to have to jump ahead in line."

"That's sweet of you." Barbara said, smooching her girl and gingerly coming off of her boy. "You, mister, yes." She said, pointing at her boy with a red-faced and silly grin. "Just right."

Deke snickered while he absently cleaned around his business with a hand towel he'd summoned from the other side of the room. "Yes it was." He said, just now able to breathe normally again. He watched her slip into the bathroom, and then turned to Aasha.

"C'mere." He said, gesturing with his head. She offered a sweet smile and crawled towards him, but squealed when he touched her on the abdomen. Heat immediately flooded her body, before crawling into her depths, sparking a sudden burst of electricity through her entire body.

"Damnit you." She said, pouting. "I was supposed to win this one time. Not fair."

He shrugged, said nothing for a minute, and then snickered. "Sorry kitten. You get pettings in consolation though."

"Meow." Aasha said, nuzzling him but bouncing up onto her feet quickly when the door to the bathroom opened. Barbara got out of her way in a hurry, and busied herself removing the rest of the strappiness that was her lingerie.

"This stuff's a pain to deal with. Next time I wear it, I'm keeping it on longer." She said wryly. "I knew I should have just gotten the teddy, but no, I had to go and make my wedding night complicated." She added, blowing a strand of hair out of her face with that adorable expression she always got when she did that.

"I loved it, feel free to make that the stuff you just wear around the house." Deke said, wishing Ash would hurry. It wasn't just women who had to go afterwards.

"No thanks, still Boho shirts and yoga pants for this redhead. I think that's almost all I packed for the Honeymoon, except a couple of dresses and that green lingerie I wore the first time we went to your family house." Barbara said, finally getting the shoulder portion of her current getup off.

"Sweet, I loved the green stuff!" Deke exclaimed. "And what time are you wanting to go to the Zeta tomorrow?"

"Let's see," Barbara said thoughtfully. "Hawaii is six hours behind us, so to make the most of the trip, we'd want to take off out of here around one, like our first trip there. We'd get there around seven in the morning, just enough time for second breakfast at that place Liho took us that I want to go back to."

"The hotel isn't far from there. I'll fly us to the Hacienda, so we don't look weird tugging luggage into an alleyway. We can Zeta from there to Honolulu. We're still gonna look silly, but not as much I guess." Deke said thoughtfully, but seized dibs on the bathroom since Aasha had exited, carrying her small plug. She'd apparently removed it and washed it while she was in there.

"Just bowl a girl over, goodness." She said, showing him her tongue as he all but flew past. "And I can gate you instead of all that nonsense. It's an easy spell, and I'd honestly enjoy sending you both off."

"I like it." Barbara said, finally completely naked and loving it. "Liho booked the rooms before he came here, we've got the key already, so you can just gate us into the room, if you're sure it's not too much effort."

"About as much effort as it appears to take for you to knock the Scarecrow on his bum." Aasha said. The master of fear had a pretty serious glass jaw. "A bit of forethought and a touch of arse and poof, Bob's your uncle."

"Okay then. Do you have any plans for the week we're gone?" Barbara asked, plopping down on the bed to look at her girlfriend.

"I've got work," Aasha said, making a face. "But after work, probably I'll just paint, or hate a blank canvas for a while. I told Artemis and Bette to call me if they needed any help, hopefully one of them will get the hint."

"Gotham's normalizing, which means people are starting to get into their old routines. I hate admitting it, but I wish they'd stashed one of the quake generators under Arkham, just so the city would be forced to build a new place, maybe something with design sensibilities from at least the middle of the twentieth century this time." Barbara said, making a face of her own. "It'll be back to business when I get back I think."

"At least you've got a nice predictable job now, instead of the turmoil and grind of college." Aasha offered, absently watching Deke step out of the bathroom before exiting the bedroom without a word, or pants.

Barbara shook her head at her boy. "Yeah, that's a mercy. I'm going to be busy as hell for about a month while I write a bunch of scripts to automate the frequent little tasks. It'll give me so much more time to design the architecture and security for the data flow system that'll connect all of the libraries up and down the coast. If I'm very very lucky, it might even get chosen to implement on a federal level, but I might be getting ahead of myself here." Barbara said expansively.

"I understood architecture." Aasha admitted, but brightened when a trio of orange juice bottles floated into the room in front of Deke, who'd paused at the washer and dryer to get himself a fresh pair of underwear.

"We're out of OJ." He said, and plopped onto the bed, bringing one of the bottles to his hand. "Hey, Babs, Ash?"

"Yes Cowboy?" Barbara answered. Aasha looked at him with full attention and just smiled so she didn't talk over her girl.

"I love you girls." He said simply, popping the lid off his juice. "Like, crazy into you kinda love."

* * *

 **AN:** And thus concludes the almost year and a half between book six, and the upcoming book seven. Seeing as how I write mostly action/Adventure smutfic, and here I do 29 chapters of relative fluff followed by one single lemon, I can't blame you if this wasn't the trip I usually take you on. I'd love to hear your opinions on it though, so hit me up, please and thank you! I look forward to having the next one read when it comes live, probably in a month or two if things keep to their usual.


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